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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 116 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: press · clip · march · dip · cabinet · coach · club · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. What do you think of the new ________________?
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. clip — for paper
  6. press — a publisher
  7. lean — thin
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to sink
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. club — for golf
  15. march — the month
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. club — a group
  19. clip — a video
  20. club — for dancing
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. march — the month
  23. clip — to cut
  24. march — music

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