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

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. season — in sport
  4. season — of the year
  5. field — for sport
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. ball — a dance
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. prune — to trim
  11. prune — to trim
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. scale — in music
  17. field — a subject
  18. scale — size or range
  19. ball — a great time
  20. content — happy
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. content — the amount
  24. prune — the fruit

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