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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: bay · season · wave · pass · content · shower · band · game

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. season — of the year
  5. content — happy
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a ring
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. pass — a permit
  17. shower — to wash
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. season — in sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. game — a match

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