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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: bay · squash · bass · last · ground · capital · file · race

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. ground — a position
  3. capital — money
  4. squash — the sport
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. bass — low music
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. last — finally
  11. ground — crushed
  12. file — a document
  13. capital — a city
  14. squash — to crush
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. file — a line of people
  18. last — final
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. last — to go on
  24. race — the arms race

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