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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: kid · can · object · cold · rash · ball

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. kid — to tease
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. can — a tin
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. object — an aim
  7. can — to be able to
  8. kid — child
  9. ball — a dance
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ball — a great time
  12. rash — a series
  13. rash — hasty
  14. cold — not warm
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. can — a tin
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. object — a thing

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