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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: wave · file · land · content · bay · fine · bear · swing

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. land — ground
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. land — a country
  6. bear — the animal
  7. file — a tool
  8. land — to come down
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. fine — all right
  12. file — a document
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. content — the amount
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. file — a line of people
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. fine — high quality
  21. swing — in golf
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. swing — music
  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