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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: scale · game · degree · nail · charge · clip · wind · chair

  1. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — in control
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. charge — electricity
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — in music
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. clip — for paper
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. charge — a price
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. wind — moving air
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. game — wild animals
  16. degree — an amount
  17. clip — a video
  18. scale — size or range
  19. chair — a leader
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. game — a match
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wind — moving air
  24. degree — from a university

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