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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 · hide · squash

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. race — the arms race
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pitch — completely
  6. race — a contest
  7. squash — the sport
  8. current — of water
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. wind — moving air
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. wind — moving air
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. squash — to crush
  23. chest — of your body
  24. race — humankind

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