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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
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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: ruler · mine · can · drill · coach · shower · rule · content

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. shower — to wash
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. can — to be able to
  5. rule — a law
  6. drill — army training
  7. can — a tin
  8. drill — the tool
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. can — a tin
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. content — the amount
  18. drill — a practice
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. rule — government
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. mine — for digging

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