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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: tear · bound · cell · wave · deal · court

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. court — of law
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — of a king
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. cell — a phone
  7. wave — a sudden rise
  8. bound — certain
  9. cell — in biology
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. deal — to handle
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. tear — from crying
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. court — for sport
  16. bound — tied together
  17. tear — to rip
  18. deal — a big deal

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