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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.

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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: fan · bowl · wake · cue · content · ground · mine · field

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. ground — a position
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. ground — the earth
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. content — the amount
  8. content — happy
  9. field — for sport
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. cue — a hint
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. field — a subject
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. field — farmland
  22. cue — for pool
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. cue — a signal

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