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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: sharp · wake · charge · leaves · field · shower · cap · current

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. cap — a hat
  3. charge — electricity
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — clever
  6. shower — rain
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. cap — a lid
  10. field — a subject
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. shower — to wash
  13. current — of water
  14. field — for sport
  15. wake — a trail
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. charge — in control
  20. field — farmland
  21. cap — of ice
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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