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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: march · land · content · bear · game · wind · craft · rock

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. land — ground
  3. march — music
  4. land — to come down
  5. content — the amount
  6. march — the month
  7. rock — a stone
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. march — the month
  10. land — a country
  11. wind — moving air
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wind — moving air
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. content — happy
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. craft — a skill
  18. craft — boats
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. bear — the animal
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. bear — the animal

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