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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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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: snap · temple · row · field · pop · content · bulb · bowl

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. content — happy
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. field — farmland
  7. content — the amount
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. row — a line
  13. pop — to visit
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. field — for sport
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pop — music
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pop — soda
  20. bulb — for light
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. field — a subject
  24. snap — to click

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