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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a plant
  2. hand — in cards
  3. rest — what's left
  4. stock — goods
  5. degree — an amount
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. stock — shares
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. rest — what's left
  10. capital — a city
  11. degree — from a university
  12. root — the cause
  13. degree — temperature
  14. hand — help
  15. rest — a break
  16. chip — to eat
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. capital — money
  22. chip — for betting
  23. root — of a word
  24. deal — to handle

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