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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cue — a signal
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. march — the month
  7. cue — a hint
  8. cue — for pool
  9. content — the amount
  10. fork — in a road
  11. march — music
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. bass — the fish
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. content — happy
  17. bass — low music
  18. board — a committee
  19. board — to get on
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. season — in sport
  22. season — of the year
  23. march — the month
  24. bass — the instrument

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