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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fine · game · field · last · snap · bat · fall · jam

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. last — final
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. last — to go on
  5. snap — to click
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. bat — the animal
  8. fall — to drop
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. field — for sport
  14. field — a subject
  15. fall — to drop
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. last — finally
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. jam — to spread on bread
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. fine — high quality
  24. fall — the season

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