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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: bat · trunk · race · cell · kick · clip · cue · face

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. cell — in biology
  5. face — to point toward
  6. kick — in football
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. clip — for paper
  9. cue — for pool
  10. face — part of the head
  11. race — humankind
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. clip — to cut
  16. cue — a hint
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. race — a contest
  20. race — the arms race
  21. cue — a signal
  22. face — to confront
  23. cell — a phone
  24. cell — in a prison

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