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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 116 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: rash · deal · face · club · perch · last · capital · file

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. perch — the fish
  3. file — a document
  4. capital — money
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — to confront
  7. club — for dancing
  8. face — part of the head
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. capital — a city
  12. deal — to handle
  13. club — a group
  14. last — final
  15. file — a tool
  16. last — to go on
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. last — finally
  19. rash — hasty
  20. club — for golf
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. file — a line of people
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. rash — a series

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