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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. pop — to visit
  3. clip — a video
  4. rule — a law
  5. clip — to cut
  6. clip — for paper
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kid — child
  9. pop — soda
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. pop — music
  13. kid — to tease
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. current — electric
  17. rule — government
  18. sharp — clever
  19. shower — to wash
  20. current — happening now
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. current — of water
  24. dip — to sink

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