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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 120 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: present · wind · chest · race · ground · hide · vault · fall

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  4. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. present — the time now
  3. vault — an arched ceiling
  4. hide — animal skin
  5. fall — the season
  6. ground — the earth
  7. present — there
  8. race — a contest
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. fall — to drop
  11. ground — crushed
  12. vault — a safe
  13. wind — moving air
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. race — humankind
  16. chest — of your body
  17. chest — a box
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. fall — to drop
  21. present — a gift
  22. wind — moving air
  23. race — the arms race
  24. chest — of your body

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