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 124 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. field — for sport
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. scale — size or range
  5. content — the amount
  6. track — to keep track
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. field — a subject
  9. row — a line
  10. degree — temperature
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. track — a song
  13. degree — from a university
  14. track — a path
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — farmland
  19. content — happy
  20. scale — in music
  21. degree — an amount
  22. row — to paddle
  23. lie — to recline
  24. content — videos and posts

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