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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 116 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: rush · kid · land · tube · tear · charge · ground · perch

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. land — a country
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. land — ground
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ground — crushed
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. charge — electricity
  9. kid — child
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rush — hurry
  13. perch — the fish
  14. tube — the underground
  15. tube — a container
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — the earth
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — from crying
  21. charge — a price
  22. charge — in control
  23. tear — to rip
  24. land — to come down

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