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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: clip · shower · last · pound · bay · rule

  1. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. My mare is ________________ in color.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. last — final
  5. pound — a weight
  6. last — to go on
  7. clip — to cut
  8. bay — a horse colour
  9. clip — a video
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. last — finally
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rule — government
  15. shower — rain
  16. shower — to wash
  17. clip — for paper
  18. rule — a law

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