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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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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: ruler · land · craft · wind · squash · last · prune · mate

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. land — a country
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. squash — to crush
  5. mate — a friend
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. prune — to trim
  10. prune — to trim
  11. mate — to breed
  12. last — finally
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. squash — the sport
  15. mate — a partner
  16. ruler — a monarch
  17. land — ground
  18. last — to go on
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. craft — boats
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. land — to come down
  24. craft — a skill

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