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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: file · club · race · vault · pop · rest · bay · cold

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. race — humankind
  3. file — a line of people
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pop — soda
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. race — a contest
  11. file — a document
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. pop — music
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a tool
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. race — the arms race
  20. cold — an illness
  21. club — a group
  22. rest — what's left
  23. club — for dancing
  24. pop — to visit

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