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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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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: bound · press · wax · row · game · march · perch · chair

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. That was ________________ to happen.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a leader
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. game — a match
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. wax — to grow
  15. perch — the fish
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bound — certain
  18. press — a publisher
  19. row — a line
  20. press — newspapers
  21. march — music
  22. press — to push
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. march — the month

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