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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: toast · present · clip · face · wake · tear

  1. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. 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. present — the time now
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. clip — to cut
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. toast — bread
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. present — there
  8. present — a gift
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. tear — to rip
  11. clip — for paper
  12. tear — from crying
  13. face — to confront
  14. wake — a trail
  15. face — to point toward
  16. tear — from crying
  17. face — part of the head
  18. 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