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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: cold · net · race · object · press · vault

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. race — a contest
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. race — humankind
  5. cold — not warm
  6. press — newspapers
  7. race — the arms race
  8. vault — a safe
  9. object — a thing
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. net — after costs
  12. press — to push
  13. press — a publisher
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. net — in sport
  16. object — to protest
  17. object — an aim
  18. cold — an illness

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