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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: bulb · court · clip · land · file · cabinet · bass · game

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. I've got to change the light ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. file — a document
  3. bulb — for light
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — a video
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bass — low music
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of law
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. file — a line of people
  13. clip — for paper
  14. bulb — for light
  15. court — of a king
  16. file — a tool
  17. land — a country
  18. land — ground
  19. land — to come down
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. game — wild animals
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. game — a match

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