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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: wake · court · face · tear · rest · clip · pop · safe

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. court — of a king
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. clip — for paper
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — a video
  9. court — of law
  10. face — to point toward
  11. tear — from crying
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pop — soda
  15. face — to confront
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. wake — a trail
  22. rest — what's left
  23. face — part of the head
  24. pop — 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