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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 120 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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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: current · staff · shower · cell · charge · chest · tear · perch

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. charge — electricity
  3. tear — to rip
  4. charge — in control
  5. staff — employees
  6. tear — from crying
  7. cell — in biology
  8. perch — the fish
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. staff — a stick
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. chest — a box
  15. current — electric
  16. current — happening now
  17. shower — to wash
  18. cell — a phone
  19. staff — employees
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. shower — rain
  23. current — of water
  24. tear — from crying

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