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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: fan · content · bore · current · trunk · lie · hand · club

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. bore — to tire
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. lie — to recline
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. hand — help
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. current — of water
  11. bore — to drill
  12. club — a group
  13. current — happening now
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. current — electric
  16. hand — in cards
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. lie — an untruth

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