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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: chair · cue · craft · press · pound · bass · bark · march

  1. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — for pool
  2. chair — a leader
  3. press — a publisher
  4. craft — boats
  5. press — to push
  6. craft — a skill
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. bark — to shout
  10. march — the month
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. bass — low music
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. march — music
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. march — the month
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cue — a hint
  20. bass — the fish
  21. cue — a signal
  22. pound — a weight
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pound — for dogs

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