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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: land · mine · charge · tube · kid · fine · fan · pitcher

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. charge — in control
  4. tube — the underground
  5. kid — child
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. land — ground
  8. fine — all right
  9. mine — for digging
  10. kid — to tease
  11. land — a country
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. fine — high quality
  15. charge — electricity
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. land — to come down
  18. tube — a container
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. charge — a price
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. mine — belonging to me

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