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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 · wind · rush · roll · wake · game · track

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. land — ground
  3. land — a country
  4. wind — moving air
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. suit — clothes
  10. track — a song
  11. wake — a trail
  12. roll — a cake
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. game — a match
  16. land — to come down
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. suit — in cards
  19. rush — hurry
  20. track — a path
  21. roll — a list
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — to keep track
  24. game — wild animals

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