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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: fan · scale · ground · land · field · degree · wave · chip

  1. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.

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

Answer key

  1. chip — to eat
  2. scale — size or range
  3. scale — in music
  4. field — farmland
  5. land — ground
  6. degree — from a university
  7. land — a country
  8. ground — a position
  9. degree — an amount
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. ground — the earth
  12. degree — temperature
  13. field — for sport
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. land — to come down
  18. chip — for betting
  19. field — a subject
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. ground — crushed
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. wave — with your hand

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