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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  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. fan — a supporter
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. file — a line of people
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. degree — temperature
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. file — a document
  10. root — of a word
  11. cell — a phone
  12. field — farmland
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. root — the cause
  15. cell — in biology
  16. root — of a plant
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. saw — the tool
  20. saw — the tool
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. degree — an amount
  23. field — for sport
  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