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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: rush · capital · face · hand · wax · deal · bear · object

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. face — to confront
  3. deal — an agreement
  4. capital — a city
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. hand — help
  9. face — part of the head
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. capital — money
  12. rush — hurry
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. wax — in the ear
  15. object — a thing
  16. object — to protest
  17. wax — to grow
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. hand — in cards
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. object — an aim
  23. face — to point toward
  24. deal — to handle

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