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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: charge · face · wound · tube · chair · capital · season · kid

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. chair — a leader
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. tube — the underground
  6. season — of the year
  7. kid — child
  8. charge — in control
  9. face — to confront
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kid — to tease
  12. face — part of the head
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. charge — electricity
  16. face — to point toward
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. season — in sport
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. charge — a price
  22. capital — money
  23. tube — a container
  24. capital — a city

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