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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: degree · spell · rest · date · pass · stem · cell · hand

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. degree — temperature
  3. date — the fruit
  4. pass — a permit
  5. rest — a break
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. spell — letters
  11. hand — help
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. spell — magic
  15. cell — a phone
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. cell — in biology
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rest — what's left
  23. degree — an amount
  24. date — on the calendar

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