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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. kid — child
  5. wound — an injury
  6. spring — of water
  7. tube — the underground
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. tube — a container
  10. spring — the season
  11. spring — a coil
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. charge — in control
  14. fine — all right
  15. capital — money
  16. charge — electricity
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. capital — a city
  19. wound — an injury
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. kid — to tease
  22. mine — for digging
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fine — high quality

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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