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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: stand · pound · hand · dip · wave · march · shower · kid

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. kid — to tease
  3. march — music
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. pound — a weight
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. shower — rain
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. hand — help
  12. shower — to wash
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. kid — child
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. dip — to sink
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. march — the month
  21. hand — in cards
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. dip — a sauce

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