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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: deal · field · staff · last · fall · snap · game · foot

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. last — to go on
  3. foot — a measure
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. staff — employees
  6. field — a subject
  7. fall — to drop
  8. field — for sport
  9. fall — to drop
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. game — a match
  12. game — wild animals
  13. last — finally
  14. field — farmland
  15. last — final
  16. staff — a stick
  17. fall — the season
  18. staff — employees
  19. snap — to click
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. deal — to handle
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. deal — an agreement

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