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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: season · spell · stem · rash · snap · trunk · cell · degree

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the meat?
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. stem — to come from
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. rash — a series
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. spell — magic
  12. season — to add flavour
  13. rash — hasty
  14. spell — a short time
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cell — in biology
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — in sport
  19. snap — to click
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. degree — an amount
  23. spell — letters
  24. cell — a phone

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