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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 116 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: rest · mine · rule · current · nail · cell · ruler · hand

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. rule — a law
  4. current — happening now
  5. cell — in biology
  6. rest — a break
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. current — electric
  9. current — of water
  10. cell — a phone
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. rest — what's left
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. rule — government
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. rest — what's left
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. hand — in cards
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. mine — for digging
  24. ruler — for measuring

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