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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 120 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: bank · pitch · bass · chair · cold · cell · bulb · spell

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I've got to change the light ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bulb — for light
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. spell — magic
  5. bank — for money
  6. bass — low music
  7. cold — an illness
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. bulb — for light
  11. cold — not warm
  12. pitch — completely
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. bank — of a river
  17. spell — letters
  18. bank — for money
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chair — a leader
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cell — a phone
  24. pitch — a sports field

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