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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: march · cell · file · safe · track · capital · staff · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. track — a path
  3. staff — employees
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — the amount
  6. file — a line of people
  7. cell — in biology
  8. capital — money
  9. march — music
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. staff — employees
  13. march — the month
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. staff — a stick
  16. march — the month
  17. capital — a city
  18. file — a tool
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. cell — a phone
  22. file — a document
  23. track — to keep track
  24. track — a song

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