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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: wake · land · cold · perch · last · charge · cue · press

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. cue — for pool
  3. last — finally
  4. charge — a price
  5. land — ground
  6. press — a publisher
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. charge — in control
  9. wake — a trail
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. cold — an illness
  13. charge — electricity
  14. press — to push
  15. cold — not warm
  16. perch — the fish
  17. land — to come down
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — final
  20. last — to go on
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. cue — a signal
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. land — a country

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