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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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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: squash · deal · arm · pitch · game · rule · cabinet · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. deal — to handle
  3. squash — the sport
  4. rule — a law
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. rule — government
  9. field — farmland
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. game — a match
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. field — for sport
  21. pitch — completely
  22. squash — to crush
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. rule — to rule out

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