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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: last · field · charge · bulb · mate · bore · hand · content

  1. The tickets are free of ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — a price
  2. last — final
  3. content — happy
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bulb — for light
  6. last — finally
  7. charge — in control
  8. hand — help
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bore — to drill
  12. mate — a partner
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. hand — in cards
  16. mate — to breed
  17. charge — electricity
  18. mate — a friend
  19. last — to go on
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. bore — to tire
  23. field — farmland
  24. content — the amount

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