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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: row · season · pop · track · saw · content · board · cold

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. saw — the tool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — happy
  5. cold — an illness
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. season — in sport
  8. pop — music
  9. content — the amount
  10. saw — the tool
  11. season — of the year
  12. row — to paddle
  13. track — a path
  14. pop — soda
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cold — not warm
  19. row — a line
  20. pop — to visit
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. board — a committee
  23. board — to get on
  24. track — to keep track

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