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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 · rest · field · rule · arm · cold · firm · leaves

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  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. squash — the sport
  2. firm — a company
  3. rest — what's left
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — a part of something
  7. field — a subject
  8. rest — a break
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. firm — decided
  12. cold — an illness
  13. field — farmland
  14. rest — what's left
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. rule — government
  19. field — for sport
  20. squash — to crush
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. rule — a law
  23. firm — steady
  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