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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 116 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: cold · charge · kid · cell · scale · chair

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. charge — a price
  4. cold — not warm
  5. scale — in music
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cell — in biology
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — in control
  13. kid — to tease
  14. cell — a phone
  15. kid — child
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. cold — an illness
  18. scale — size or range

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