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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wind — moving air
  4. branch — a division
  5. field — a subject
  6. track — a path
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. track — to keep track
  9. degree — from a university
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. degree — temperature
  12. wake — a trail
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — farmland
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. wind — moving air
  24. track — a song

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