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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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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: leaves · rash · prune · clip · snap · row · tear · wake

  1. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. leaves — lets stay
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. tear — from crying
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. tear — from crying
  8. row — to paddle
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. snap — to click
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. row — a line
  15. rash — a series
  16. clip — a video
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. prune — to trim
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wake — a trail
  22. prune — to trim
  23. clip — to cut
  24. rash — hasty

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