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. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. field — farmland
  3. face — to point toward
  4. face — to confront
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. degree — temperature
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. field — for sport
  9. degree — from a university
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. field — a subject
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. ruler — a monarch
  14. wax — to grow
  15. toast — the most admired
  16. band — a music group
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. face — part of the head
  20. toast — bread
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. band — a ring
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. band — a rubber band

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