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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 120 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
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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: court · coach · row · content · current · board · cue · cold

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. court — for sport
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. row — to paddle
  5. content — happy
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. board — to get on
  9. board — a committee
  10. current — of water
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. current — electric
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. court — of law
  15. cold — not warm
  16. court — of a king
  17. row — a line
  18. current — happening now
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cue — for pool
  21. cold — an illness
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. cue — a signal
  24. content — the amount

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