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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: cold · stand · arm · kid · roll · charge · game · fine

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a match
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. charge — a price
  7. kid — child
  8. stand — to bear
  9. roll — a list
  10. fine — high quality
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. charge — in control
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. cold — an illness
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. fine — all right
  22. roll — a cake
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. charge — electricity

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