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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: pitcher · mate · prune · chest · last · roll · charge · bore

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — to drill
  3. roll — a cake
  4. mate — to breed
  5. bore — to tire
  6. chest — of your body
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. roll — a list
  10. chest — of your body
  11. last — finally
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. last — final
  14. mate — a friend
  15. prune — to trim
  16. charge — a price
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. mate — a partner
  20. last — to go on
  21. charge — electricity
  22. chest — a box
  23. charge — in control
  24. bore — gave birth

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