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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: cap · bound · land · net · last · ruler · rest · prune

  1. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. net — in sport
  3. land — ground
  4. land — a country
  5. last — final
  6. last — to go on
  7. rest — what's left
  8. prune — to trim
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — to come down
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bound — certain
  13. prune — to trim
  14. last — finally
  15. rest — what's left
  16. bound — tied together
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. bound — obliged
  19. net — for catching
  20. cap — a lid
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cap — of ice
  24. net — after costs

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