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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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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: pound · rule · clip · press · shower · lash

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. shower — to wash
  5. clip — for paper
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. rule — to rule out
  8. press — newspapers
  9. press — to push
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. rule — a law
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. clip — to cut
  14. press — a publisher
  15. shower — rain
  16. pound — a weight
  17. rule — government
  18. clip — a video

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