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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: degree · wax · net · face · mate · field · trunk · scale

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. field — a subject
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. scale — size or range
  6. net — after costs
  7. scale — in music
  8. mate — to breed
  9. field — farmland
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. degree — an amount
  13. net — for catching
  14. face — part of the head
  15. mate — a friend
  16. degree — temperature
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. wax — to grow
  19. face — to point toward
  20. degree — from a university
  21. mate — a partner
  22. field — for sport
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. net — in sport

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