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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: press · court · bulb · club · bat · kid · rest · march

  1. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bat — the animal
  3. kid — child
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. court — of law
  6. court — for sport
  7. rest — a break
  8. press — a publisher
  9. march — the month
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — for light
  12. press — to push
  13. press — newspapers
  14. court — of a king
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for golf
  17. kid — to tease
  18. march — music
  19. club — for dancing
  20. march — the month
  21. rest — what's left
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bat — for baseball

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