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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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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 · rule · cell · root · ruler · last

  1. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. last — final
  3. cell — a phone
  4. rule — a law
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. root — of a plant
  7. rule — government
  8. last — to go on
  9. root — the cause
  10. perch — the fish
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. root — of a word
  15. cell — in biology
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. last — finally

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