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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.

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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: calf · drill · capital · tube · hand · charge · net · tear

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — the underground
  4. drill — the tool
  5. capital — money
  6. hand — help
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — in sport
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. tear — to rip
  11. drill — army training
  12. capital — a city
  13. tube — a container
  14. hand — in cards
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. net — for catching
  17. charge — in control
  18. tear — from crying
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. tear — from crying
  22. drill — a practice
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. charge — a price

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