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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: perch · suit · board · spell · game · wax · capital · band

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. perch — the fish
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. band — a music group
  5. spell — a short time
  6. game — wild animals
  7. band — a ring
  8. suit — clothes
  9. capital — a city
  10. wax — to grow
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. capital — money
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. suit — in cards
  16. spell — magic
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. suit — to fit
  20. spell — letters
  21. game — a match
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. board — a committee
  24. wax — in the ear

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