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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: fall · wake · face · clip · tube · sharp · roll · toast

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. roll — a cake
  3. face — part of the head
  4. fall — to drop
  5. face — to point toward
  6. tube — the underground
  7. sharp — clever
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. clip — a video
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. roll — a list
  13. fall — to drop
  14. toast — a drink to someone
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. clip — for paper
  17. toast — the most admired
  18. face — to confront
  19. fall — the season
  20. wake — a trail
  21. tube — a container
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. clip — to cut
  24. toast — bread

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