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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: deal · date · chair · degree · bat · ground · root · stock

  1. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. root — of a word
  4. ground — crushed
  5. degree — an amount
  6. degree — from a university
  7. ground — a position
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. chair — a leader
  13. deal — to handle
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — shares
  16. root — of a plant
  17. root — the cause
  18. stock — goods
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. ground — the earth
  22. bat — the animal
  23. degree — temperature
  24. deal — an agreement

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