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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: date · current · perch · charge · mark · cold · kid · file

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. kid — to tease
  3. current — of water
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. kid — child
  6. mark — a trace
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. charge — in control
  11. current — electric
  12. mark — a grade
  13. date — the fruit
  14. file — a tool
  15. perch — the fish
  16. cold — not warm
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. file — a document
  20. charge — electricity
  21. cold — an illness
  22. charge — a price
  23. current — happening now
  24. file — a line of people

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