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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: foot · content · face · chest · file · race · last · kick

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  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. kick — with a leg
  2. kick — in football
  3. file — a document
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. chest — a box
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. chest — of your body
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. file — a tool
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — happy
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — humankind
  17. file — a line of people
  18. face — part of the head
  19. face — to confront
  20. race — the arms race
  21. last — finally
  22. foot — a measure
  23. face — to point toward
  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