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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: season · rule · clip · bore · rash · stock · can · track

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. rule — a law
  3. clip — to cut
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stock — goods
  8. track — a song
  9. can — a tin
  10. rule — government
  11. bore — to tire
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a path
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stock — shares
  18. rash — hasty
  19. can — a tin
  20. season — in sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. clip — a video
  23. bore — to drill
  24. can — to be able to

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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