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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. degree — from a university
  3. field — for sport
  4. pop — music
  5. field — farmland
  6. degree — an amount
  7. face — to confront
  8. swing — music
  9. drill — a practice
  10. pop — soda
  11. drill — the tool
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — thin
  14. swing — in golf
  15. season — of the year
  16. field — a subject
  17. swing — to play on
  18. season — in sport
  19. lean — to bend
  20. degree — temperature
  21. face — part of the head
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. drill — army training
  24. face — to point toward

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