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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — farmland
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. march — the month
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. lean — thin
  11. degree — an amount
  12. march — music
  13. degree — temperature
  14. pit — in a race
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. degree — from a university
  17. kid — child
  18. march — the month
  19. pit — a fruit stone
  20. field — for sport
  21. lean — to bend
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. date — the fruit
  24. kid — to tease

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