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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: cold · land · charge · bat · stand · bank · sharp · current

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. cold — an illness
  3. sharp — clever
  4. land — a country
  5. charge — electricity
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. current — of water
  8. land — ground
  9. charge — in control
  10. bank — for money
  11. charge — a price
  12. land — to come down
  13. bank — of a river
  14. bat — the animal
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. current — electric
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bank — for money
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — to bear

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