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. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  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. degree — from a university
  2. tube — the underground
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. root — of a plant
  5. pop — music
  6. field — farmland
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. degree — temperature
  9. content — happy
  10. root — the cause
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. field — for sport
  15. degree — an amount
  16. pop — to visit
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. pop — soda
  19. wax — to grow
  20. content — the amount
  21. root — of a word
  22. pound — a weight
  23. tube — a container
  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