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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: press · fall · last · current · clip · cold · staff · charge

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. charge — a price
  3. staff — employees
  4. last — finally
  5. last — final
  6. staff — employees
  7. press — a publisher
  8. current — of water
  9. fall — the season
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — happening now
  12. staff — a stick
  13. press — to push
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. fall — to drop
  16. charge — electricity
  17. clip — for paper
  18. charge — in control
  19. clip — a video
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fall — to drop
  24. press — newspapers

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