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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: degree · cabinet · land · leaves · bear · pitcher · field · perch

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. land — to come down
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. field — farmland
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. land — a country
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. land — ground
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. degree — from a university
  22. perch — the fish
  23. field — a subject
  24. perch — for a bird

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