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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: file · game · arm · cold · calf · board · fork · jam

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. file — a tool
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. fork — in a road
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. cold — an illness
  12. board — a committee
  13. jam — to spread on bread
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. file — a line of people
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. board — to get on
  19. jam — a tight spot
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. game — a match
  22. cold — not warm
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. file — a document

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