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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 116 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.

Make a worksheet

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: file · march · land · perch · racket · wind · bass · cell

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cell — a phone
  6. bass — low music
  7. land — a country
  8. march — music
  9. cell — in biology
  10. file — a document
  11. land — ground
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. wind — moving air
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. perch — the fish
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. file — a line of people
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. file — a tool
  23. bass — the fish
  24. perch — for a bird

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