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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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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: wind · prune · rest · rule · ruler · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. band — a ring
  3. ruler — a monarch
  4. wind — moving air
  5. rest — a break
  6. rest — what's left
  7. prune — to trim
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. rule — a law
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rule — government
  18. wind — to turn a key

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