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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: rest · ruler · prune · last · cell · bore

  1. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  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. ruler — for measuring
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. bore — to tire
  4. rest — what's left
  5. last — to go on
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. cell — a phone
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. last — final
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. rest — a break
  15. bore — to drill
  16. rest — what's left
  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