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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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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: rash · deal · tube · date · clip · race · pitch · bark

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. pitch — completely
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. rash — a series
  7. deal — to handle
  8. rash — hasty
  9. clip — to cut
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. date — the fruit
  12. race — humankind
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. tube — a container
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. race — a contest
  20. bark — to shout
  21. race — the arms race
  22. clip — for paper
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. clip — a video

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