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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: band · game · suit · mark · race · capital · wake · stem

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. When will it ________________ you to start?
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — wild animals
  3. capital — money
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. mark — a grade
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a music group
  8. suit — clothes
  9. race — humankind
  10. mark — a trace
  11. suit — in cards
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. stem — to come from
  14. capital — a city
  15. band — a ring
  16. race — a contest
  17. game — a match
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. suit — to fit
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. race — the arms race
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. stem — of a plant

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