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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 · ground · hide

  1. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — a video
  2. pound — a weight
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ground — a position
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. ground — the earth
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. shower — to wash
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. rule — government
  13. clip — to cut
  14. last — to go on
  15. ground — crushed
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rule — a law
  19. last — final
  20. clip — for paper
  21. last — finally
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. shower — rain
  24. hide — to keep secret

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