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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: land · suit · band · game · march · track · spell · trunk

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. When will it ________________ you to start?
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. land — ground
  3. track — a song
  4. land — to come down
  5. band — a ring
  6. suit — clothes
  7. game — a match
  8. spell — letters
  9. suit — to fit
  10. march — the month
  11. march — the month
  12. suit — in cards
  13. game — wild animals
  14. track — a path
  15. land — a country
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. march — music
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. track — to keep track
  20. spell — a short time
  21. band — a music group
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. spell — magic
  24. trunk — of a car

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