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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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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: tear · mate · row · capital · deal · chest · rest · stick

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. capital — a city
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mate — a partner
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. tear — to rip
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rest — what's left
  10. tear — from crying
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. mate — to breed
  13. rest — what's left
  14. tear — from crying
  15. capital — money
  16. chest — a box
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a line
  19. mate — a friend
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. chest — of your body
  22. rest — a break
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. deal — a big deal

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