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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: craft · bulb · cold · press · mine · cap · vault · net

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — to push
  4. vault — an arched ceiling
  5. cap — a hat
  6. cap — of ice
  7. vault — a safe
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. press — newspapers
  11. cap — a lid
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — in sport
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. craft — a skill
  16. press — a publisher
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. net — for catching
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. mine — for digging
  21. craft — boats
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — not warm

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