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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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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: lie · kid · patient · bound · tube · land · capital · spell

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. bound — tied together
  5. land — ground
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — magic
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bound — obliged
  10. land — to come down
  11. spell — a short time
  12. tube — a container
  13. kid — child
  14. tube — the underground
  15. kid — to tease
  16. capital — money
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. capital — a city
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. bound — certain
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. land — a country

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