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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. drill — army training
  3. field — farmland
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. degree — temperature
  6. clip — to cut
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. clip — for paper
  9. club — for dancing
  10. degree — an amount
  11. club — a group
  12. club — for golf
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — a practice
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. lean — thin
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. field — for sport
  20. clip — a video
  21. degree — from a university
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. field — a subject

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