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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.

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: game · mine · bulb · rash · bowl · content · fan · field

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. content — happy
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rash — hasty
  11. rash — a series
  12. bulb — for light
  13. field — for sport
  14. game — wild animals
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. game — a match
  18. bulb — for light
  19. content — the amount
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. mine — an explosive

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