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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — from a university
  3. drill — the tool
  4. drill — army training
  5. pit — in a race
  6. bat — the animal
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. pit — a hole
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. degree — an amount
  11. press — newspapers
  12. field — for sport
  13. wind — moving air
  14. degree — temperature
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. drill — a practice
  21. press — to push
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — a subject
  24. press — a publisher

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