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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: current · file · sharp · tear · bark · mine · content · calf

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. mine — for digging
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tear — to rip
  6. current — electric
  7. content — the amount
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. current — of water
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. file — a line of people
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. current — happening now
  15. file — a document
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. bark — to shout
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. file — a tool
  21. tear — from crying
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. tear — from crying

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