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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.

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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: jam · coach · cold · pop · tear · net · rule · row

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. rule — government
  5. pop — soda
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. pop — to visit
  9. net — in sport
  10. tear — to rip
  11. jam — in traffic
  12. tear — from crying
  13. pop — music
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. row — to paddle
  17. net — for catching
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. row — a line
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — not warm
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. tear — from crying
  24. net — after costs

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