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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: hand · chair · cabinet · saw · pitch · board · field · deal

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. saw — the tool
  6. board — a committee
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. field — a subject
  10. deal — to handle
  11. deal — an agreement
  12. saw — the tool
  13. chair — a leader
  14. hand — in cards
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. pitch — completely
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. field — for sport
  22. hand — help
  23. board — to get on
  24. deal — a big deal

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