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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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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: rock · bound · bore · rule · mine · court · cold · stock

  1. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  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. bore — to tire
  2. court — of law
  3. stock — shares
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stock — goods
  10. court — for sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cold — not warm
  13. court — of a king
  14. bound — certain
  15. bore — to drill
  16. bound — obliged
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. rock — a stone
  22. rock — music
  23. rule — government
  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