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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: land · cold · fork · ruler · bore · band · bound · rest

  1. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. land — a country
  4. bore — to tire
  5. rest — a break
  6. cold — an illness
  7. land — ground
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bore — gave birth
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. band — a ring
  13. band — a music group
  14. bore — to drill
  15. fork — in a road
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bound — certain
  24. land — to come down

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