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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: tube · fall · season · charge · kick · ruler · wind · kid

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. season — of the year
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. fall — to drop
  5. charge — a price
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fall — the season
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fall — to drop
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. wind — moving air
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — in sport
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. tube — a container
  21. charge — in control
  22. kid — child
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. ruler — a monarch

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