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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: rule · band · prune · saw · bowl · ruler · kid · nail

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. rule — government
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. band — a ring
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. prune — to trim
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. saw — the tool
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. kid — child
  11. saw — the tool
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. band — a music group
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. prune — to trim
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. kid — to tease
  24. ruler — a monarch

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