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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  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. field — farmland
  2. degree — temperature
  3. field — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. snap — to click
  6. land — a country
  7. degree — from a university
  8. plane — a tool
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. land — ground
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bore — to tire
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. rash — a series
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. degree — an amount
  22. bore — to drill
  23. rash — hasty
  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