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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.

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 · root · ground · plane · band · perch · degree · pitcher

  1. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. root — of a word
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. ground — a position
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. perch — the fish
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. degree — temperature
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. field — farmland
  12. root — the cause
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. band — a ring
  16. field — a subject
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — crushed
  19. root — of a plant
  20. degree — from a university
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — for sport
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. degree — an amount

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