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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: race · wind · chest · pitch · branch · current

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pitch — completely
  4. branch — of a tree
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — a box
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. current — electric
  9. branch — a division
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. current — of water
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — happening now
  17. wind — moving air
  18. race — the arms race

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