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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: bulb · rule · fork · fan · net · bowl · clip · content

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. rule — government
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. rule — to rule out
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. net — for catching
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. content — happy
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rule — a law
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. clip — a video
  16. bulb — for light
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. content — the amount
  20. clip — for paper
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. clip — to cut

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