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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: cell · field · sharp · foot · current · mine · file · content

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. current — electric
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. foot — a measure
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. field — farmland
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. current — happening now
  17. current — of water
  18. file — a tool
  19. sharp — clever
  20. mine — for digging
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — in biology
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mine — belonging to me

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