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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 · bass · bay · file · vault · date · squash · ground

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  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. ground — a position
  2. date — the fruit
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. bass — the fish
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. file — a tool
  9. race — a contest
  10. squash — to crush
  11. squash — the sport
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. vault — a safe
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. file — a line of people
  20. file — a document
  21. bass — low music
  22. race — the arms race
  23. date — on the calendar
  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