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. The water is too ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — temperature
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. field — farmland
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cell — in biology
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. degree — from a university
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. cold — an illness
  16. degree — an amount
  17. field — for sport
  18. safe — out of danger

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