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 124 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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. lean — thin
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. spell — a short time
  5. field — farmland
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. date — the fruit
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. degree — from a university
  11. field — for sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. lean — to bend
  15. degree — temperature
  16. degree — an amount
  17. branch — a division
  18. spell — letters

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