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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: current · charge · tear · stand · wake · wound · temple · straw

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — electricity
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. current — electric
  8. charge — a price
  9. tear — to rip
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — from crying
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wake — a trail
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. current — happening now
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. wound — an injury
  21. current — of water
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. wake — before a funeral
  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