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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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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: mate · pound · stand · wax · march · club · press · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. press — a publisher
  6. march — the month
  7. mate — to breed
  8. mate — a partner
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. march — music
  11. lean — thin
  12. press — to push
  13. march — the month
  14. club — for dancing
  15. mate — a friend
  16. club — for golf
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. pound — a weight
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. club — a group
  21. stand — to bear
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wax — to grow
  24. stand — on your feet

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