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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: band · swing · date · kid · shower · foot · land · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. swing — to play on
  3. shower — rain
  4. swing — in golf
  5. foot — a measure
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. swing — music
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. shower — to wash
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — ground
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. band — a music group
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. date — the fruit
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. land — to come down
  22. band — a ring
  23. rule — government
  24. land — a country

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