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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: saw · rule · swing · ground · shower · snap · clip · can

  1. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He works in a ________________ mill.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — to rule out
  2. ground — crushed
  3. shower — a meteor shower
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — the tool
  8. swing — to play on
  9. clip — to cut
  10. snap — to click
  11. can — to be able to
  12. ground — the earth
  13. clip — for paper
  14. rule — government
  15. swing — music
  16. shower — rain
  17. can — a tin
  18. rule — a law
  19. ground — a position
  20. shower — to wash
  21. can — a tin
  22. swing — in golf
  23. clip — a video
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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