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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 116 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: drill · ground · face · field · bat · perch · nail · degree

  1. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. field — for sport
  3. face — part of the head
  4. ground — the earth
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. ground — crushed
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bat — the animal
  11. field — a subject
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. drill — a practice
  14. ground — a position
  15. drill — the tool
  16. field — farmland
  17. degree — temperature
  18. drill — army training
  19. perch — the fish
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — from a university

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