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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 116 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: rest · prune · clip · track · tear · stem · lash · leaves

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. clip — for paper
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rest — what's left
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. tear — to rip
  7. rest — a break
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. clip — to cut
  13. track — a song
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. track — a path
  16. tear — from crying
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. stem — to come from
  19. rest — what's left
  20. clip — a video
  21. tear — from crying
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. prune — to trim
  24. track — to keep track

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