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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · scale · court · charge · cell · mine · mark · chair

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. court — of a king
  5. mine — for digging
  6. charge — in control
  7. scale — in music
  8. charge — electricity
  9. cold — not warm
  10. mark — a grade
  11. charge — a price
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. scale — size or range
  15. court — for sport
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. court — of law
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. chair — a leader
  24. cell — a phone

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