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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: pitch · pound · press · content · chair · bound

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. pound — a weight
  5. bound — obliged
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. pitch — completely
  9. press — to push
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. press — a publisher
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. press — newspapers
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. bound — certain
  18. chair — to sit on

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