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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: coach · band · scale · key · march · present · swing · press

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. march — music
  3. band — a ring
  4. key — in music
  5. press — to push
  6. swing — to play on
  7. present — a gift
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. press — a publisher
  12. scale — size or range
  13. band — a music group
  14. press — newspapers
  15. march — the month
  16. present — the time now
  17. key — the most important part
  18. swing — in golf
  19. present — there
  20. swing — music
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. march — the month
  23. scale — in music
  24. key — for a lock

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