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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. firm — decided
  3. court — of law
  4. spell — a short time
  5. court — of a king
  6. bulb — for light
  7. spell — magic
  8. cell — a phone
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. drill — the tool
  13. court — for sport
  14. drill — a practice
  15. race — a contest
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. firm — a company
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. spell — letters
  20. date — the fruit
  21. cell — in biology
  22. race — the arms race
  23. drill — army training
  24. race — humankind

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