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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: trunk · mouse · bat · race · clip · pitch · face · dip

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. dip — to sink
  3. race — humankind
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. trunk — of a car
  6. pitch — completely
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. clip — for paper
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. bat — the animal
  12. clip — a video
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. race — the arms race
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. face — to confront
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. face — to point toward
  22. face — part of the head
  23. clip — to cut
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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