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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: wind · face · track · chest · cue · vault · mine · race

  1. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. vault — a safe
  3. race — a contest
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. cue — a signal
  6. race — the arms race
  7. mine — for digging
  8. face — to point toward
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cue — a hint
  11. track — a song
  12. face — part of the head
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a path
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. chest — a box
  17. wind — moving air
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. cue — for pool
  20. chest — of your body
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. wind — moving air
  23. face — to confront
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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