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 116 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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. spell — letters
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. field — farmland
  5. season — of the year
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. degree — from a university
  12. field — a subject
  13. season — in sport
  14. spell — a short time
  15. capital — money
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — for sport
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. degree — temperature
  22. capital — a city
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cabinet — ministers

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