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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: clip · field · bulb · season · face · kick · rock · content

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. face — to confront
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. field — for sport
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. content — the amount
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. clip — to cut
  13. kick — in football
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. face — part of the head
  16. season — of the year
  17. face — to point toward
  18. season — in sport
  19. clip — a video
  20. field — a subject
  21. rock — a stone
  22. field — farmland
  23. rock — music
  24. bulb — for light

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