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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.

Make a worksheet

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: land · wound · bay · file · rash · club · content · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. file — a document
  5. content — the amount
  6. land — ground
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. club — for golf
  9. rash — a series
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. file — a tool
  12. rash — hasty
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. file — a line of people
  16. land — to come down
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — happy
  23. land — a country
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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