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. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — a skill
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. field — farmland
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. field — for sport
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. degree — from a university
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. clip — to cut
  13. clip — a video
  14. degree — an amount
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. degree — temperature
  17. clip — for paper
  18. craft — boats

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