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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 120 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 · last · content · track · file · band · object · saw

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. track — to keep track
  3. last — finally
  4. current — happening now
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. object — a thing
  7. track — a song
  8. last — final
  9. content — the amount
  10. current — electric
  11. band — a music group
  12. file — a tool
  13. last — to go on
  14. object — to protest
  15. object — an aim
  16. saw — the tool
  17. file — a line of people
  18. track — a path
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. content — happy
  21. band — a ring
  22. file — a document
  23. saw — the tool
  24. current — of water

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