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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: arm · ruler · scale · bound · pop · spell · land · shower

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spell — letters
  4. land — to come down
  5. shower — rain
  6. scale — in music
  7. land — a country
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. shower — to wash
  12. pop — to visit
  13. land — ground
  14. pop — soda
  15. spell — magic
  16. bound — certain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. scale — size or range
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bound — tied together
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. bound — obliged
  24. pop — music

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