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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the button?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. degree — an amount
  3. prune — to trim
  4. field — for sport
  5. land — ground
  6. spring — a coil
  7. spring — of water
  8. deal — to handle
  9. chip — for betting
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. field — farmland
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. prune — to trim
  14. press — a publisher
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — a country
  19. degree — from a university
  20. chip — to eat
  21. degree — temperature
  22. press — newspapers
  23. spring — the season
  24. press — to push

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