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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: present · drill · stem · court · tear · bound · mouse · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  24. 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. race — a contest
  2. tear — from crying
  3. present — there
  4. court — of law
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. bound — tied together
  7. stem — to come from
  8. present — the time now
  9. drill — army training
  10. present — a gift
  11. tear — from crying
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — for sport
  14. bound — certain
  15. race — humankind
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. tear — to rip
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. drill — a practice
  21. race — the arms race
  22. drill — the tool
  23. bound — obliged
  24. 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