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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: fall · scale · band · track · charge · hand · cold · snap

  1. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. track — to keep track
  3. hand — help
  4. track — a path
  5. track — a song
  6. scale — in music
  7. charge — in control
  8. scale — size or range
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. fall — to drop
  11. band — a music group
  12. charge — a price
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. fall — to drop
  16. band — a ring
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. charge — electricity
  21. snap — to click
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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