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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: kid · shower · band · pass · pound · rule

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — a weight
  3. pass — a permit
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. shower — to wash
  11. band — a ring
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. rule — government
  14. rule — a law
  15. kid — to tease
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. band — a music group
  18. rule — to rule out

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