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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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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: rest · temple · race · current · wind · saw · pop · charge

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. saw — the tool
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. wind — moving air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. current — of water
  7. pop — to visit
  8. race — the arms race
  9. pop — soda
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. rest — what's left
  12. charge — in control
  13. charge — a price
  14. race — humankind
  15. rest — what's left
  16. current — happening now
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. rest — a break
  21. race — a contest
  22. current — electric
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — music

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