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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: press · swing · cell · march · chair · spring

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. spring — the season
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. march — music
  6. swing — in golf
  7. march — the month
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. cell — in biology
  10. spring — of water
  11. cell — a phone
  12. press — to push
  13. march — the month
  14. press — newspapers
  15. press — a publisher
  16. spring — a coil
  17. swing — to play on
  18. chair — a leader

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