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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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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: stem · degree · sharp · kid · club · arm · root · chip

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  3. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. chip — to eat
  3. root — of a plant
  4. kid — to tease
  5. degree — from a university
  6. club — a group
  7. root — the cause
  8. club — for golf
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — child
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. degree — an amount
  14. chip — for betting
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. degree — temperature
  21. sharp — clever
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. sharp — exactly

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