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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: file · field · kid · charge · tear · current · mug · content

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — of water
  4. tear — to rip
  5. current — electric
  6. content — the amount
  7. kid — to tease
  8. field — a subject
  9. file — a line of people
  10. content — happy
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. charge — a price
  13. kid — child
  14. field — for sport
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. mug — to rob
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. charge — in control
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — from crying
  24. current — happening now

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