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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.

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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: wind · fine · bowl · land · calf · snap · content · can

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. content — happy
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. land — a country
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. can — to be able to
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — all right
  13. wind — moving air
  14. land — to come down
  15. wind — moving air
  16. content — the amount
  17. snap — to click
  18. land — ground
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. can — a tin
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. fine — high quality
  24. can — a tin

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