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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 116 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: stand · ground · kid · rule · shower · bank

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. rule — a law
  3. bank — for money
  4. kid — child
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — to tease
  7. ground — crushed
  8. shower — rain
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. shower — to wash
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bank — for money
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. bank — of a river
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position

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