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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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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: bay · pound · arm · cold · stem · net

  1. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. net — in sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. net — after costs
  8. bay — a part of the sea
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. pound — a weight
  14. stem — to come from
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bay — to keep at bay

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