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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
468
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 · shower · straw · arm · ball · rash · land · rule

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. 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. stand — on your feet
  2. land — a country
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. land — to come down
  6. rule — government
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. ball — a dance
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rash — a series
  12. stand — to bear
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. rash — hasty
  17. shower — rain
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. ball — a great time
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. rule — a law
  23. land — ground
  24. 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