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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: chest · charge · spring · date · bore · file · content · pitch

  1. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to drill
  2. date — the fruit
  3. chest — of your body
  4. charge — electricity
  5. chest — a box
  6. spring — the season
  7. chest — of your body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. charge — in control
  11. content — happy
  12. charge — a price
  13. spring — a coil
  14. content — the amount
  15. pitch — completely
  16. file — a document
  17. bore — to tire
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. file — a tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. file — a line of people
  24. date — on the calendar

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