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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: spell · board · fork · date · chip · cold · arm · trunk

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  10. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. board — a committee
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. fork — in a road
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. spell — magic
  9. chip — to eat
  10. chip — for betting
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. cold — an illness
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. board — to get on
  20. date — the fruit
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. spell — letters
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cold — not warm

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