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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 · charge · race · firm · trunk · spell · tear · rule

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. The tickets are free of ________________.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. spell — magic
  3. charge — a price
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. charge — in control
  6. spell — a short time
  7. tear — from crying
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. court — of a king
  10. tear — to rip
  11. race — the arms race
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spell — letters
  14. charge — electricity
  15. firm — steady
  16. court — of law
  17. rule — a law
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — a contest
  20. firm — a company
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. firm — decided
  23. race — humankind
  24. rule — government

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