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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. firm — decided
  3. field — farmland
  4. scale — size or range
  5. firm — steady
  6. field — for sport
  7. race — humankind
  8. bass — the fish
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. content — the amount
  11. bass — low music
  12. clip — for paper
  13. degree — from a university
  14. degree — temperature
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. firm — a company
  17. scale — in music
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. clip — to cut
  22. content — happy
  23. degree — an amount
  24. clip — a video

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