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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: shower · lie · snap · content · clip · land · last · mug

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. last — to go on
  5. clip — a video
  6. lie — to recline
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. mug — to rob
  9. clip — to cut
  10. land — ground
  11. content — happy
  12. clip — for paper
  13. mug — a face
  14. mug — a cup
  15. snap — to click
  16. land — a country
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. content — the amount
  19. last — final
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. land — to come down
  23. last — finally
  24. shower — to wash

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