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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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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: content · prune · band · drill · ruler · rule · land · bay

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. land — to come down
  4. rule — government
  5. band — a music group
  6. rule — a law
  7. content — the amount
  8. land — ground
  9. drill — army training
  10. drill — a practice
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. drill — the tool
  13. prune — to trim
  14. ruler — a monarch
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. band — a ring
  20. content — happy
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. prune — to trim
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. land — a country

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