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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 116 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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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: ground · cap · ball · kid · bear · pound

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cap — a hat
  4. ball — a great time
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. cap — of ice
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. cap — a lid
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kid — to tease
  15. ground — crushed
  16. pound — a weight
  17. bear — the animal
  18. ground — a position

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