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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · ruler · pitcher · content · prune · rest · band · scale

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. band — a ring
  5. scale — size or range
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. rest — a break
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. mine — for digging
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. scale — in music
  17. prune — to trim
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rest — what's left
  20. prune — to trim
  21. band — a music group
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. content — happy
  24. 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