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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: mate · cell · bore · bark · chest · content · bat · cabinet

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. What do you think of the new ________________?
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bark — to shout
  3. bat — the animal
  4. content — the amount
  5. cell — in biology
  6. mate — a friend
  7. content — happy
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bore — to tire
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. mate — to breed
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. bore — to drill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. mate — a partner
  24. cell — in a prison

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