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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: current · rest · chair · racket · chest · race

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. chest — of your body
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. chair — a leader
  5. rest — what's left
  6. race — a contest
  7. rest — what's left
  8. rest — a break
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. current — happening now
  15. race — the arms race
  16. current — electric
  17. race — humankind
  18. chest — a box

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