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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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: roll · bass · arm · band · key · race · face · game

  1. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. game — a match
  5. race — humankind
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. face — to confront
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. key — for a lock
  10. key — the most important part
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — a list
  15. band — a music group
  16. bass — the fish
  17. race — a contest
  18. face — part of the head
  19. key — in music
  20. race — the arms race
  21. band — a ring
  22. game — wild animals
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. bass — low music

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