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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: perch · rule · clip · tube · ruler · stem · land · shower

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ruler — a monarch
  3. rule — government
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — for paper
  6. tube — a container
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — the underground
  10. clip — a video
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. clip — to cut
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. shower — rain
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — to wash
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stem — to come from
  24. perch — for a bird

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