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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: file · chest · fork · kid · face · rash · field · charge

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. fork — in a road
  3. kid — child
  4. rash — a series
  5. rash — hasty
  6. file — a document
  7. face — part of the head
  8. field — farmland
  9. chest — a box
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. field — for sport
  12. file — a tool
  13. charge — a price
  14. face — to confront
  15. file — a line of people
  16. chest — of your body
  17. kid — to tease
  18. field — a subject
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. charge — in control
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. face — to point toward
  23. charge — electricity
  24. chest — of your body

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