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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 · ground · field · date · trunk · fall · perch · nail

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. fall — to drop
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. ground — a position
  6. degree — temperature
  7. field — for sport
  8. degree — an amount
  9. fall — to drop
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. date — the fruit
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. field — a subject
  15. degree — from a university
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. perch — the fish
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. ground — the earth
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. fall — the season
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. ground — crushed

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