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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: cold · ball · fan · kid · stick · pitcher · pound · pop

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. ball — a dance
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pound — a weight
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. kid — to tease
  14. pop — soda
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. kid — child
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. pop — music
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pop — to visit
  24. ball — a great time

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