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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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Word bank
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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: bass · vault · wave · race · bat · drill · spring · game

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — the season
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. drill — a practice
  8. race — the arms race
  9. game — wild animals
  10. drill — the tool
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. vault — in gymnastics
  14. spring — a coil
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. drill — army training
  17. game — a match
  18. bass — the fish
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. vault — an arched ceiling
  21. race — humankind
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. vault — a safe
  24. spring — of water

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