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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 124 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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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: pound · march · roll · fork · press · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. march — the month
  4. press — newspapers
  5. press — a publisher
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. chair — a leader
  8. press — to push
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. march — the month
  11. roll — a list
  12. march — music
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. pound — a weight
  15. fork — in a road
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. fork — to eat with

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