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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: pound · stand · kid · file · board · rush · shower · land

  1. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  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. pound — a weight
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. kid — to tease
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. board — to get on
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. board — a committee
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. file — a line of people
  10. land — ground
  11. file — a document
  12. land — to come down
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. stand — to bear
  18. shower — rain
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. shower — to wash
  21. file — a tool
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rush — hurry
  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