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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: bulb · foot · press · safe · file · bear · race · degree

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. press — to push
  3. degree — from a university
  4. press — a publisher
  5. safe — a strongbox
  6. file — a document
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — the arms race
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. bulb — for light
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. degree — temperature
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. file — a tool
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. file — a line of people
  20. bear — the animal
  21. press — newspapers
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bulb — for light
  24. degree — an amount

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