ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

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.

Make a worksheet

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
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — an amount
  3. field — farmland
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. squash — to crush
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. bear — the animal
  8. degree — temperature
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. ground — a position
  12. bear — the animal
  13. field — for sport
  14. ground — crushed
  15. squash — the sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. ground — the earth

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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