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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.

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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: perch · lean · ground · degree · cell · field · wax · wave

  1. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — a sudden rise
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. degree — from a university
  6. degree — an amount
  7. cell — in biology
  8. lean — to bend
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. ground — crushed
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. wax — to grow
  13. lean — thin
  14. perch — the fish
  15. field — farmland
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cell — a phone
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. field — a subject
  21. ground — the earth
  22. field — for sport
  23. ground — a position
  24. degree — temperature

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