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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: file · cold · present · current · chip · content · stand · drill

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cold — not warm
  4. present — a gift
  5. chip — to eat
  6. current — of water
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. current — electric
  9. chip — for betting
  10. file — a document
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. present — the time now
  13. file — a tool
  14. content — the amount
  15. drill — a practice
  16. current — happening now
  17. drill — army training
  18. present — there
  19. drill — the tool
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. content — happy
  23. file — a line of people
  24. content — videos and posts

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