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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: hand · race · content · date · drill · perch · chest · bore

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. race — a contest
  4. bore — to tire
  5. race — humankind
  6. date — the fruit
  7. chest — a box
  8. race — the arms race
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. drill — a practice
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. hand — in cards
  18. drill — the tool
  19. bore — to drill
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. hand — help
  22. perch — the fish
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. chest — of your body

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