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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: march · bulb · land · bass · file · object · cold · cell

  1. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. bass — low music
  3. bulb — for light
  4. march — the month
  5. file — a document
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. file — a tool
  11. object — a thing
  12. bass — the fish
  13. cold — not warm
  14. march — music
  15. bulb — for light
  16. file — a line of people
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. march — the month
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. land — a country
  22. cell — a phone
  23. object — to protest
  24. object — an aim

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