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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 · race · last · vault · fall · stock · wind · track

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — final
  5. stock — shares
  6. race — the arms race
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. last — finally
  9. current — electric
  10. fall — the season
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. current — of water
  13. last — to go on
  14. current — happening now
  15. track — a path
  16. fall — to drop
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. track — to keep track
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. race — humankind
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — goods
  23. track — a song
  24. fall — to drop

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