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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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Word bank
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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: chest · race · rush · key · sharp · wound · file · vault

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. race — the arms race
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. race — humankind
  6. key — the most important part
  7. key — for a lock
  8. wound — an injury
  9. key — in music
  10. file — a document
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. vault — a safe
  16. chest — a box
  17. chest — of your body
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a line of people
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. file — a tool
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. rush — hurry

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