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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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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: march · squash · chest · bulb · content · deal · cell · file

  1. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. cell — in biology
  3. march — the month
  4. march — the month
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cell — a phone
  8. chest — of your body
  9. content — the amount
  10. march — music
  11. file — a tool
  12. file — a line of people
  13. bulb — for light
  14. squash — the sport
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. chest — a box
  18. squash — to crush
  19. content — happy
  20. bulb — for light
  21. file — a document
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. deal — to handle

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