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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: season · cold · bound · content · pop · tear · charge · club

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. cold — an illness
  3. pop — to visit
  4. club — a group
  5. season — in sport
  6. pop — music
  7. tear — from crying
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. bound — tied together
  11. tear — from crying
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. charge — in control
  14. charge — a price
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — for golf
  17. cold — not warm
  18. content — the amount
  19. pop — soda
  20. tear — to rip
  21. charge — electricity
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. club — for dancing
  24. content — happy

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