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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: chair · stem · wound · game · current · tube · tear · charge

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wound — an injury
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stem — to come from
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. charge — electricity
  7. current — happening now
  8. charge — a price
  9. chair — a leader
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. tube — the underground
  12. charge — in control
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. tube — a container
  16. game — wild animals
  17. wound — an injury
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. tear — from crying
  22. game — a match
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. current — electric

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