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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: clip · stand · safe · mate · tear · bear · bark · season

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mate — a partner
  4. clip — to cut
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bear — the animal
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. stand — to bear
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. mate — a friend
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — for paper
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bark — to shout
  18. season — of the year
  19. bear — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. season — in sport
  24. clip — a video

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