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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.

Words on the sheet
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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 · ball · sharp

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

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. sharp — clever
  5. kid — to tease
  6. cold — an illness
  7. charge — a price
  8. cold — not warm
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. scale — in music
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. cell — in biology
  14. scale — size or range
  15. charge — in control
  16. ball — a dance
  17. kid — child
  18. charge — electricity
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. chair — to sit on
  21. cell — a phone
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. chair — a leader

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