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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 116 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: fan · field · object · saw · perch · degree · wax · scale

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — an aim
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. field — a subject
  8. degree — from a university
  9. field — for sport
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. object — a thing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. perch — the fish
  16. degree — an amount
  17. scale — in music
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. field — farmland
  20. wax — in the ear
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. degree — temperature

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