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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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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 · march · season · chest · straw · ruler

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. chest — of your body
  3. press — a publisher
  4. chest — a box
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. press — newspapers
  7. march — music
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. season — in sport
  10. press — to push
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. march — the month
  13. chest — of your body
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. season — of the year
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. straw — dry grass

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