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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
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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: cold · date · prune · arm · stem · spell · degree · charge

  1. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. charge — a price
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. spell — letters
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. prune — to trim
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. date — the fruit
  10. charge — electricity
  11. charge — in control
  12. degree — from a university
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spell — a short time
  18. degree — temperature
  19. stem — to come from
  20. spell — magic
  21. prune — to trim
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. degree — an amount
  24. cold — an illness

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