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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: object · bear · wake · clip · tear · tube · mine · mate

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. clip — to cut
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mate — to breed
  7. object — a thing
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. tube — a container
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. clip — for paper
  14. mate — a friend
  15. bear — the animal
  16. clip — a video
  17. object — to protest
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tube — the underground
  21. mate — a partner
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. tear — from crying
  24. bear — the animal

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