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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: cabinet · degree · pop · toast · last · cell

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pop — music
  4. degree — temperature
  5. last — final
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. pop — soda
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. last — finally
  12. pop — to visit
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. toast — bread
  17. last — to go on
  18. degree — from a university

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