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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 116 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: game · charge · current · clip · wind · tear · staff · stock

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — to cut
  5. charge — electricity
  6. staff — a stick
  7. current — happening now
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — to rip
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. charge — in control
  14. stock — goods
  15. staff — employees
  16. current — electric
  17. stock — shares
  18. wind — moving air
  19. current — of water
  20. clip — for paper
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. charge — a price
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — a match

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