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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: track · patient · current · spring · snap · trunk · lie · rule

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. snap — to click
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — of water
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. rule — government
  11. spring — the season
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. track — a song
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. spring — a coil
  18. lie — to recline
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. spring — of water
  22. rule — a law
  23. track — a path
  24. current — electric

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