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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: game · race · chest · kick · dip · bay · arm · face

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. race — a contest
  3. chest — of your body
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. face — part of the head
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. face — to confront
  8. game — wild animals
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. race — the arms race
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. chest — of your body
  16. kick — in football
  17. game — a match
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. race — humankind
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. arm — a part of something
  24. chest — a box

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