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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: rash · chest · mark · tear · capital · file · face · deal

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  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. deal — to handle
  2. chest — of your body
  3. face — to point toward
  4. file — a document
  5. rash — hasty
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. face — part of the head
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mark — a trace
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. mark — a grade
  12. file — a tool
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. capital — a city
  16. capital — money
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — to rip
  19. rash — a series
  20. file — a line of people
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. face — to confront
  23. tear — from crying
  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