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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: wind · tube · deal · capital · kid · lie · charge · spring

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. tube — a container
  8. wind — moving air
  9. charge — electricity
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. kid — to tease
  12. spring — a coil
  13. wind — moving air
  14. charge — in control
  15. capital — money
  16. charge — a price
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. deal — to handle
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. lie — to recline
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. capital — a city
  24. kid — child

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