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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: kick · bay · stock · swing · content · wound · game · land

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. land — a country
  5. game — a match
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. content — the amount
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — music
  11. swing — to play on
  12. content — happy
  13. stock — shares
  14. kick — in football
  15. stock — goods
  16. game — wild animals
  17. land — ground
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. land — to come down
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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