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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: march · bound · straw · chest · roll · shower · press · stick

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. bound — tied together
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. press — a publisher
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. bound — certain
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. march — the month
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. chest — of your body
  12. shower — rain
  13. march — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. roll — a cake
  17. chest — of your body
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. roll — a list
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. press — to push
  22. shower — to wash
  23. press — newspapers
  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