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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 116 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: race · content · current · tear · file · staff

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. 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. staff — employees
  2. staff — a stick
  3. tear — from crying
  4. race — the arms race
  5. race — a contest
  6. tear — to rip
  7. race — humankind
  8. content — the amount
  9. current — of water
  10. file — a document
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — electric
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. file — a tool
  16. tear — from crying
  17. staff — employees
  18. 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