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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: stem · kick · ground · degree · wax · plane · field · lean

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — for sport
  4. plane — a tool
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. kick — in football
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. ground — the earth
  10. degree — from a university
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wax — to grow
  13. degree — temperature
  14. field — a subject
  15. lean — to bend
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. degree — an amount
  21. stem — to come from
  22. lean — thin
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. field — farmland

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