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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 120 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 · bear · can · row · mate · clip · tear · leaves

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. rest — a break
  3. clip — a video
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — what's left
  6. bear — the animal
  7. bear — the animal
  8. tear — from crying
  9. mate — a partner
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. can — a tin
  12. mate — a friend
  13. row — to paddle
  14. tear — from crying
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. tear — to rip
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. can — to be able to
  19. clip — to cut
  20. row — a line
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. can — a tin
  23. mate — to breed
  24. clip — for paper

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