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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: mark · temple · face · pit · file · current · spell · field

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — happening now
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. spell — magic
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. field — a subject
  7. face — to point toward
  8. mark — a trace
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. spell — letters
  11. file — a line of people
  12. spell — a short time
  13. file — a tool
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. pit — a hole
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. field — farmland
  18. face — to confront
  19. file — a document
  20. current — of water
  21. pit — in a race
  22. mark — a grade
  23. face — part of the head
  24. field — for sport

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