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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: straw · tear · tube · court · rule · bass · race · spell

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of a king
  4. tear — from crying
  5. race — a contest
  6. bass — low music
  7. spell — letters
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. spell — a short time
  10. rule — a law
  11. tube — a container
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. race — the arms race
  16. tube — the underground
  17. spell — magic
  18. court — of law
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. rule — government
  21. tear — from crying
  22. race — humankind
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. tear — to rip

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