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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 120 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 · hand · safe · court · mine · tear · root · rule

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. race — the arms race
  3. root — of a word
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. court — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — from crying
  9. court — of law
  10. rule — a law
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. root — of a plant
  14. root — the cause
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. race — humankind
  17. court — of a king
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. hand — help
  20. rule — government
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — to rip
  23. race — a contest
  24. mine — for digging

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