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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: bay · degree · net · stem · court · chip · perch · root

  1. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. court — for sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. chip — to eat
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. stem — to come from
  7. net — in sport
  8. degree — temperature
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. root — the cause
  13. court — of law
  14. court — of a king
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. perch — the fish
  19. root — of a plant
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. root — of a word
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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