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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: snap · prune · tear · bay · patient · trunk · row · clip

  1. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a tree
  2. clip — a video
  3. tear — to rip
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. snap — to click
  9. clip — for paper
  10. tear — from crying
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. clip — to cut
  15. prune — to trim
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. tear — from crying
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. prune — to trim
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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