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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: mate · cold · present · last · pop · key · leaves · cell

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. last — finally
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. pop — to visit
  6. present — there
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pop — soda
  10. last — to go on
  11. mate — a partner
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. cold — not warm
  14. key — for a lock
  15. present — a gift
  16. last — final
  17. key — in music
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. mate — a friend
  21. pop — music
  22. present — the time now
  23. key — the most important part
  24. leaves — of a tree

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