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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: scale · fork · degree · perch · trunk · cell · wax · ground

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. fork — in a road
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. ground — a position
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. ground — the earth
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. degree — temperature
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. scale — in music
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. ground — crushed
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. perch — the fish
  21. cell — a phone
  22. degree — from a university
  23. cell — in biology
  24. wax — to grow

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