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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: press · straw · march · wave · wake · chair

  1. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — newspapers
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. press — a publisher
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. march — the month
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a leader
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. press — to push
  16. march — music
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — a straw man

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com