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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: key · toast · tube · scale · clip · deal · wind · face

  1. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. This piece is in a major ________________.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. toast — bread
  3. tube — a container
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wind — moving air
  6. deal — to handle
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. key — the most important part
  10. key — for a lock
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. clip — for paper
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. wind — moving air
  15. face — part of the head
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. tube — the underground
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. toast — the most admired
  20. scale — size or range
  21. clip — a video
  22. face — to confront
  23. key — in music
  24. scale — in 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