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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: mine · charge · current · tear · perch · land · hand · deal

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. deal — to handle
  3. charge — a price
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. charge — electricity
  7. current — of water
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. current — electric
  11. tear — from crying
  12. perch — the fish
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. charge — in control
  15. land — ground
  16. mine — for digging
  17. tear — from crying
  18. land — to come down
  19. tear — to rip
  20. land — a country
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. current — happening now
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. deal — a big deal

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