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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: kid · field · cabinet · file · current · content · track · plane

  1. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. content — happy
  3. kid — to tease
  4. plane — a tool
  5. content — the amount
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. current — electric
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. current — happening now
  12. track — to keep track
  13. field — farmland
  14. track — a song
  15. file — a tool
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. track — a path
  18. current — of water
  19. kid — child
  20. field — for sport
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. field — a subject
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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