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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
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: content · band · swing · fan · rush · bay · fine · cold

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. band — a ring
  7. fine — high quality
  8. band — a music group
  9. rush — hurry
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. content — happy
  18. fine — all right
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. swing — music
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. swing — in golf
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. fan — to cool the air

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