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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.

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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: can · cold · content · tear · row · last · track · fork

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. track — to keep track
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — the amount
  5. can — a tin
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. cold — an illness
  8. last — finally
  9. row — a line
  10. row — to paddle
  11. tear — to rip
  12. last — final
  13. content — happy
  14. tear — from crying
  15. can — to be able to
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. track — a path
  18. tear — from crying
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. can — a tin
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cold — not warm
  23. last — to go on
  24. track — a song

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