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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: arm · cap · net · craft · cold · press · club · stem

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stem — to come from
  3. craft — boats
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. press — to push
  6. press — a publisher
  7. net — in sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cold — an illness
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. cap — of ice
  13. club — a group
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. press — newspapers
  19. cap — a lid
  20. club — for dancing
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. craft — a skill
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. arm — a part of something

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