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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.

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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. field — for sport
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bass — the fish
  6. object — to protest
  7. object — an aim
  8. field — a subject
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. bass — low music
  13. object — a thing
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. content — the amount
  22. field — farmland
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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