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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: bulb · file · racket · cell · club · cold

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. file — a tool
  4. club — for dancing
  5. cold — an illness
  6. club — a group
  7. bulb — for light
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bulb — for light
  11. file — a document
  12. cell — a phone
  13. club — for golf
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cell — in a prison

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