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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 120 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: field · cold · pass · squash · object · game · snap · rule

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. pass — to spend time
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — a subject
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. pass — a permit
  7. game — wild animals
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — an illness
  11. squash — the sport
  12. rule — government
  13. object — an aim
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. field — for sport
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. object — to protest
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. snap — to click
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. game — a match
  23. object — a thing
  24. field — farmland

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