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

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — a subject
  4. land — a country
  5. perch — the fish
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. field — for sport
  8. lean — to bend
  9. degree — temperature
  10. wave — a sudden rise
  11. ground — crushed
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — farmland
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. degree — an amount
  17. degree — from a university
  18. ground — the earth
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wake — a trail
  23. lean — thin
  24. land — to come down

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