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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: face · pitch · date · bore · chest · tube · capital · bank

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. chest — of your body
  4. bank — for money
  5. bank — for money
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. tube — a container
  8. face — to point toward
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. face — to confront
  12. bank — of a river
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. face — part of the head
  15. bore — to drill
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. capital — money
  19. chest — a box
  20. capital — a city
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bore — to tire
  24. tube — the underground

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