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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. club — for dancing
  5. degree — from a university
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. field — for sport
  10. degree — an amount
  11. tube — the underground
  12. band — a music group
  13. club — a group
  14. club — for golf
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. drill — army training
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. field — farmland
  19. drill — the tool
  20. tear — from crying
  21. degree — temperature
  22. band — a ring
  23. sharp — clever
  24. drill — a practice

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