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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · land · pop · current · perch · charge · staff · spell

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The tickets are free of ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. current — electric
  3. spell — magic
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. land — a country
  6. charge — electricity
  7. spell — a short time
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — soda
  10. staff — a stick
  11. charge — in control
  12. spell — letters
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. current — happening now
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — to visit
  17. current — of water
  18. staff — employees
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — ground
  21. perch — the fish
  22. charge — a price
  23. cold — not warm
  24. staff — employees

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