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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 120 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
468
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: field · scale · pop · perch · plane · degree · calf · mine

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. degree — from a university
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. field — farmland
  8. plane — a tool
  9. field — a subject
  10. degree — an amount
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. degree — temperature
  13. scale — in music
  14. perch — the fish
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. pop — soda
  17. field — for sport
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. pop — music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. plane — in geometry

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