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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: key · season · board · content · march · last · cold · object

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. season — in sport
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. object — to protest
  8. cold — not warm
  9. key — in music
  10. board — to get on
  11. last — finally
  12. key — the most important part
  13. content — the amount
  14. object — an aim
  15. march — music
  16. key — for a lock
  17. cold — an illness
  18. content — happy
  19. last — to go on
  20. board — a committee
  21. march — the month
  22. object — a thing
  23. march — the month
  24. last — final

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