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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: charge · board · calf · field · jam · cold · game · squash

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  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. calf — a young animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. squash — the sport
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. field — for sport
  6. charge — electricity
  7. board — a committee
  8. jam — to spread on bread
  9. cold — an illness
  10. board — a flat piece
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. game — a match
  14. charge — a price
  15. charge — in control
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. squash — to crush
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. field — farmland
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. calf — a young animal
  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