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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 120 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: cell · pop · current · spell · prune · cold · pass · leaves

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. cold — an illness
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. pop — music
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pass — a permit
  9. cold — not warm
  10. spell — letters
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — to trim
  14. current — happening now
  15. spell — a short time
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. current — of water
  18. spell — magic
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. cell — a phone
  23. pop — soda
  24. cell — in biology

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