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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: bay · court · chest · snap · roll · stock · face · arm

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. roll — a list
  3. stock — shares
  4. snap — to click
  5. face — to confront
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. face — to point toward
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. stock — goods
  13. chest — a box
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. face — part of the head
  17. chest — of your body
  18. court — for sport
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. roll — a cake
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  24. court — of law

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