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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: race · arm · trunk · march · chest · bass · bay · game

  1. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. chest — of your body
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. bay — to keep at bay
  5. march — music
  6. chest — a box
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. game — wild animals
  9. race — a contest
  10. march — the month
  11. bass — the fish
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. race — humankind
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. march — the month
  24. race — the arms race

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