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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: shower · land · rest · ruler · bowl · pop · saw · rule

  1. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. rule — a law
  3. shower — to wash
  4. rest — a break
  5. rule — to rule out
  6. saw — the tool
  7. pop — soda
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. shower — rain
  10. land — ground
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. land — to come down
  13. rest — what's left
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. land — a country
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. rule — government
  18. saw — the tool
  19. pop — music
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. pop — to visit

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