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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.

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: march · wound · suit · rock · net · wind · land · content

  1. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — music
  2. content — happy
  3. march — the month
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. suit — clothes
  9. rock — a stone
  10. suit — in cards
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. suit — to fit
  15. net — in sport
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. rock — music
  19. land — a country
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — the month
  22. wound — an injury
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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