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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: rest · field · prune · roll · mine · last · key · rule

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. We're on a ________________ here.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. mine — an explosive
  2. key — for a lock
  3. roll — a list
  4. field — a subject
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. key — the most important part
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rule — a law
  10. roll — a cake
  11. field — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. key — in music
  14. rest — a break
  15. last — finally
  16. roll — on a roll
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim
  19. last — to go on
  20. last — final
  21. rule — government
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — farmland
  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