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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: ruler · rest · prune · kick · wind · mate

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. rest — what's left
  3. mate — to breed
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. prune — to trim
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. mate — a friend
  8. prune — to trim
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. wind — moving air
  11. kick — in football
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. rest — a break
  17. wind — moving air
  18. rest — what's left

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