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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 116 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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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: bear · band · rule · prune · staff · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. band — a music group
  3. rule — a law
  4. staff — employees
  5. bear — the animal
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. bear — the animal
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. band — a ring
  11. staff — a stick
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. prune — to trim
  14. staff — employees
  15. cell — in biology
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out

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