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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: dip · fan · season · tear · content · tube · field · court

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. tube — a container
  4. field — for sport
  5. court — for sport
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. court — of law
  11. tear — to rip
  12. court — of a king
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. content — happy
  15. tear — from crying
  16. season — in sport
  17. tear — from crying
  18. dip — to sink
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. season — of the year
  21. tube — the underground
  22. field — a subject
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. content — the amount

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