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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: tear · drill · bear · race · rule · court · sharp · scale

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. scale — in music
  3. rule — a law
  4. drill — a practice
  5. bear — the animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. scale — size or range
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. race — the arms race
  11. sharp — clever
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. race — humankind
  15. race — a contest
  16. tear — from crying
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. tear — to rip
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. court — of law
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. bear — the animal

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