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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: wind · mug · chest · bowl · track · charge · scale · cold

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Where did you ________________ them?
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. mug — a face
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chest — a box
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. mug — a cup
  7. mug — to rob
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. charge — electricity
  10. chest — of your body
  11. track — to keep track
  12. charge — in control
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. track — a path
  15. track — a song
  16. wind — moving air
  17. charge — a price
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. cold — an illness
  20. chest — of your body
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. 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