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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 124 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
468
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 · cell · bulb · fan · file · content · land · squash

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. land — ground
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a tool
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. land — to come down
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. cell — in biology
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cell — a phone
  16. file — a document
  17. land — a country
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. march — music
  21. bulb — for light
  22. file — a line of people
  23. bulb — for light
  24. content — the amount

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