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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: shower · staff · ruler · land · pound · key · kid · stand

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — a weight
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. staff — employees
  5. key — for a lock
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. key — in music
  9. staff — employees
  10. kid — to tease
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — child
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. land — to come down
  15. land — a country
  16. shower — rain
  17. stand — to bear
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. staff — a stick
  21. key — the most important part
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. shower — to wash

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