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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: vault · wind · net · chest · pass · object · current · race

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. net — for catching
  4. pass — a permit
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. object — to protest
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. net — after costs
  12. wind — moving air
  13. current — happening now
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. vault — a safe
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. chest — a box
  19. object — a thing
  20. net — in sport
  21. object — an aim
  22. race — the arms race
  23. current — of water
  24. current — electric

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