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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.

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 · cold · kid · toast · net · charge · game · mine

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. scale — in music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. charge — a price
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — in sport
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. charge — electricity
  10. kid — to tease
  11. game — wild animals
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. toast — bread
  16. charge — in control
  17. game — a match
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kid — child
  21. scale — size or range
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. net — after costs

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