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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: file · stand · capital · rash · chest · roll · cell · mark

  1. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. I can't ________________ this cold.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  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. cell — in a prison
  2. capital — a city
  3. chest — of your body
  4. file — a document
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. chest — a box
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. rash — hasty
  11. roll — a list
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mark — a grade
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mark — a trace
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. rash — a series
  19. roll — a cake
  20. file — a line of people
  21. file — a tool
  22. stand — to bear
  23. capital — money
  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