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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: pass · spell · mate · stem · degree · cold · wound · temple

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. stem — to come from
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. mate — a friend
  7. spell — magic
  8. pass — a permit
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. degree — temperature
  12. mate — a partner
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wound — an injury
  15. degree — from a university
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. mate — to breed
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spell — letters
  23. wound — an injury
  24. degree — an amount

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