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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 · root · court · game · race · pound

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — a weight
  2. court — for sport
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. race — a contest
  5. root — the cause
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. tear — to rip
  8. root — of a plant
  9. race — humankind
  10. tear — from crying
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. game — a match
  13. court — of law
  14. game — wild animals
  15. race — the arms race
  16. root — of a word
  17. tear — from crying
  18. court — of a king

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