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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 · patient · race · wind · last · vault

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. current — happening now
  3. last — to go on
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. last — final
  7. wind — moving air
  8. race — humankind
  9. last — finally
  10. current — of water
  11. vault — in gymnastics
  12. current — electric
  13. race — the arms race
  14. vault — a safe
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — moving air
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. wind — to turn a key

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