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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: pitch · can · cap · arm · wind · land · stem · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — ground
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. club — a group
  7. can — to be able to
  8. land — a country
  9. can — a tin
  10. stem — to come from
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. cap — of ice
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. cap — a hat
  17. land — to come down
  18. club — for dancing
  19. can — a tin
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. cap — a lid
  23. pitch — completely
  24. arm — part of the body

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