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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: race · rule · wound · content · arm · mouse · last · court

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. last — to go on
  3. race — the arms race
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. content — happy
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. last — final
  10. court — of law
  11. rule — government
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. court — for sport
  14. rule — a law
  15. wound — an injury
  16. content — the amount
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. mouse — for a computer
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. last — finally
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. court — of a king

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