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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: bear · press · bulb · bat · kid · toast · race · date

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. bulb — for light
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. toast — the most admired
  5. press — a publisher
  6. kid — to tease
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. date — the fruit
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. race — a contest
  11. bear — the animal
  12. press — newspapers
  13. race — the arms race
  14. kid — child
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. press — to push
  20. race — humankind
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. toast — bread
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bear — the animal

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