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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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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: club · bowl · content · trunk · fork · present

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. present — the time now
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. club — for dancing
  12. content — the amount
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. fork — in a road
  15. present — there
  16. present — a gift
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of an elephant

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