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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
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: chair · press · wax · march · face · squash · coach · mate

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. press — newspapers
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. squash — the sport
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. face — part of the head
  10. squash — to crush
  11. press — to push
  12. wax — to grow
  13. march — the month
  14. mate — a partner
  15. chair — a leader
  16. press — a publisher
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. mate — a friend
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. wax — for sculpting
  22. march — the month
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. coach — a trainer

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