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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: court · tear · race · racket · board · rule · pound · content

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  13. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rule — to rule out
  3. rule — government
  4. tear — to rip
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. court — of a king
  7. board — to get on
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. board — a flat piece
  13. rule — a law
  14. pound — a weight
  15. racket — a loud noise
  16. court — of law
  17. race — humankind
  18. tear — from crying
  19. content — the amount
  20. board — a committee
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. tear — from crying
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — happy

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