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 120 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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. track — a path
  3. degree — from a university
  4. craft — a skill
  5. saw — the tool
  6. court — for sport
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. track — to keep track
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. saw — the tool
  13. craft — boats
  14. track — a song
  15. court — of a king
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. season — of the year
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. court — of law
  21. season — in sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. mine — for digging
  24. degree — an amount

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