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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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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: tube · land · ruler · prune · cold · rest · pound · scale

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. prune — to trim
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. land — to come down
  5. rest — a break
  6. scale — in music
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. cold — an illness
  16. tube — the underground
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. tube — a container
  20. prune — to trim
  21. land — ground
  22. rest — what's left
  23. pound — a weight
  24. cold — not warm

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