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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: mouse · court · clip · rule · current · wound · bore · tear

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. tear — from crying
  3. wound — an injury
  4. rule — government
  5. bore — to drill
  6. clip — a video
  7. tear — from crying
  8. clip — to cut
  9. rule — a law
  10. court — of law
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. court — for sport
  14. clip — for paper
  15. current — happening now
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. tear — to rip
  18. wound — an injury
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. mouse — for a computer
  24. rule — to rule out

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