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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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Word bank
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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: prune · rush · coach · ruler · land · rest · wind · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. land — a country
  3. rest — what's left
  4. rush — hurry
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. land — to come down
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. land — ground
  10. rest — what's left
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. shower — rain
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rest — a break
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. wind — moving air
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. wind — moving air
  22. prune — to trim
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. prune — to trim

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