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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: pitcher · cap · chest · march · chair · mark · last · press

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. last — final
  3. march — music
  4. march — the month
  5. chest — a box
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cap — a lid
  8. press — to push
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mark — a grade
  11. last — finally
  12. cap — of ice
  13. last — to go on
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mark — a trace
  16. press — newspapers
  17. march — the month
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chair — a leader
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. press — a publisher
  24. chair — a professorship

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