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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 116 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 · land · bore · clip · stock · lie · snap · spring

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bore — gave birth
  4. clip — a video
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. spring — the season
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. track — to keep track
  11. track — a path
  12. spring — a coil
  13. track — a song
  14. stock — goods
  15. clip — to cut
  16. bore — to tire
  17. spring — of water
  18. snap — to click
  19. stock — shares
  20. bore — to drill
  21. clip — for paper
  22. land — a country
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. land — to come down

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