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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: pit · land · tube · wound · content · charge · stock · bore

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  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. land — to come down
  2. bore — to tire
  3. pit — a hole
  4. content — happy
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. stock — shares
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bore — to drill
  9. charge — electricity
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. content — the amount
  12. tube — a container
  13. charge — in control
  14. stock — goods
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. pit — in a race
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — ground
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. charge — a price
  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