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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 116 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: bore · capital · trunk · board · content · swing · field · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. content — happy
  3. club — a group
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. board — a committee
  6. swing — in golf
  7. swing — music
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. swing — to play on
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bore — to tire
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. board — to get on
  14. content — the amount
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. capital — a city
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. capital — money
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. club — for dancing
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — a subject

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