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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: wax · cell · current · wake · kid · field · row · file

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. row — a line
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. current — happening now
  5. wake — a trail
  6. cell — in biology
  7. file — a line of people
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. field — a subject
  10. row — to paddle
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. kid — to tease
  14. file — a tool
  15. field — farmland
  16. cell — a phone
  17. field — for sport
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wax — to grow
  21. wax — in the ear
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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