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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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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: charge · kid · court · cold · foot · arm · row · content

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — not warm
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. court — of a king
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. charge — electricity
  10. foot — a measure
  11. row — to paddle
  12. row — a line
  13. kid — to tease
  14. charge — a price
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. charge — in control
  19. content — the amount
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. kid — child
  22. court — of law
  23. court — for sport
  24. arm — a part of something

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