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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: charge · rule · wound · bass · court · pop · game · tear

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. tear — to rip
  3. court — of law
  4. game — wild animals
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bass — the fish
  7. pop — music
  8. charge — a price
  9. tear — from crying
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. charge — electricity
  12. court — of a king
  13. charge — in control
  14. rule — government
  15. court — for sport
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. pop — to visit
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bass — low music
  21. pop — soda
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. game — a match
  24. wound — an injury

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