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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: game · root · foot · degree · stock · dip · spring · date

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. root — the cause
  3. game — a match
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. degree — an amount
  7. spring — the season
  8. stock — shares
  9. degree — temperature
  10. date — the fruit
  11. dip — to sink
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. degree — from a university
  15. spring — a coil
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. game — wild animals
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. root — of a plant
  21. foot — a measure
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stock — goods
  24. spring — of water

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