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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: band · ruler · last · bulb · file · mine · fork · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. band — a ring
  5. fork — in a road
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. file — a tool
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. last — final
  12. bulb — for light
  13. last — finally
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. mine — for digging
  17. file — a line of people
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. file — a document
  20. last — to go on
  21. bulb — for light
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. band — a music group
  24. rule — a law

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