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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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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: club · straw · last · bank · lie · march · snap · press

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. press — a publisher
  3. bank — of a river
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. lie — to recline
  6. snap — to click
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bank — for money
  9. club — for dancing
  10. last — to go on
  11. club — for golf
  12. club — a group
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. last — finally
  15. press — to push
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. last — final
  18. march — the month
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. bank — for money
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. march — the month
  23. press — newspapers
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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