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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. drill — a practice
  4. squash — the sport
  5. kid — child
  6. degree — from a university
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. kid — to tease
  9. shower — rain
  10. land — to come down
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. drill — the tool
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. drill — army training
  16. degree — temperature
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — ground
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. field — for sport
  21. degree — an amount
  22. shower — to wash
  23. field — farmland
  24. land — a country

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