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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.

Make a worksheet

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: season · pit · hand · bulb · field · kid · object · content

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — a subject
  3. pit — a hole
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. hand — help
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. kid — child
  9. bulb — for light
  10. season — in sport
  11. kid — to tease
  12. object — a thing
  13. object — an aim
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. pit — in a race
  18. content — the amount
  19. bulb — of a plant
  20. hand — in cards
  21. bulb — for light
  22. content — happy
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. object — to protest

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