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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: perch · land · game · wake · capital · suit · squash · drill

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. perch — the fish
  3. squash — to crush
  4. drill — army training
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. suit — clothes
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. squash — the sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. land — a country
  12. game — wild animals
  13. suit — in cards
  14. land — to come down
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city
  19. drill — a practice
  20. game — a match
  21. land — ground
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. wake — a trail

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