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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: cold · field · deal · rock · game · scale · hand · rush

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. scale — in music
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. cold — an illness
  5. rock — a stone
  6. scale — size or range
  7. rock — music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. field — for sport
  10. hand — help
  11. game — wild animals
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. deal — to handle
  18. rush — hurry
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. hand — in cards
  22. game — a match
  23. field — farmland
  24. cold — the Cold War

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