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. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. date — the fruit
  3. degree — from a university
  4. march — music
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — farmland
  10. bark — to shout
  11. degree — an amount
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. race — humankind
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. degree — temperature
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. race — a contest
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. stem — to come from
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. race — the arms race
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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