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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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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: kid · cold · present · charge · pound · scale

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. present — the time now
  2. charge — in control
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. charge — a price
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — an illness
  10. scale — in music
  11. present — a gift
  12. cold — not warm
  13. charge — electricity
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. present — there
  16. kid — child
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. kid — to tease

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