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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: spell · scale · drill · hand · stand · bay · charge · cold

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. scale — in music
  5. spell — letters
  6. stand — to bear
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. drill — the tool
  10. scale — size or range
  11. charge — electricity
  12. charge — a price
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. drill — a practice
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spell — magic
  19. drill — army training
  20. hand — help
  21. spell — a short time
  22. charge — in control
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. hand — in cards

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