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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · bowl · spring · wax · perch · file · degree · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. field — a subject
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. file — a tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. perch — the fish
  12. chip — for betting
  13. degree — temperature
  14. file — a document
  15. degree — an amount
  16. file — a line of people
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. spring — a coil
  19. field — for sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. spring — of water
  22. field — farmland
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. spring — the season

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