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. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. field — a subject
  3. bass — low music
  4. face — to confront
  5. shower — rain
  6. pitch — completely
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. field — for sport
  9. degree — temperature
  10. degree — an amount
  11. bass — the fish
  12. shower — to wash
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. rush — hurry
  16. face — to point toward
  17. field — farmland
  18. can — to be able to
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. face — part of the head
  22. degree — from a university
  23. can — a tin
  24. pitch — a sports field

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