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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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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: march · sharp · coach · ball · press · wound · capital · lean

  1. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. press — a publisher
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. sharp — clever
  5. press — newspapers
  6. ball — a great time
  7. capital — money
  8. march — music
  9. press — to push
  10. wound — an injury
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. ball — a dance
  13. lean — thin
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. march — the month
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. lean — to bend
  22. capital — a city
  23. march — the month
  24. wound — an injury

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