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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: date · game · march · land · hand · racket · suit · band

  1. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. When will it ________________ you to start?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — clothes
  2. march — the month
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. march — the month
  5. band — a music group
  6. land — ground
  7. land — to come down
  8. band — a ring
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. land — a country
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. march — music
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — in cards
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. suit — to fit
  18. date — the fruit
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. suit — in cards
  22. game — a match
  23. game — wild animals
  24. hand — help

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