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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: track · wind · pit · stick · lie · spring · clip · mug

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. lie — to recline
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. track — a song
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. mug — to rob
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mug — a face
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spring — the season
  12. pit — in a race
  13. track — a path
  14. mug — a cup
  15. wind — moving air
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — to cut
  18. pit — a hole
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spring — a coil
  22. clip — a video
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. spring — of water

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