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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: pitch · cue · mate · cold · can · last · band · leaves

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. cue — a hint
  3. mate — a partner
  4. cold — an illness
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. last — final
  7. mate — to breed
  8. cue — a signal
  9. mate — a friend
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. can — to be able to
  14. can — a tin
  15. band — a music group
  16. last — to go on
  17. cold — not warm
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. cue — for pool
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. can — a tin
  22. pitch — completely
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. band — a ring

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