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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. branch — a division
  3. degree — temperature
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. degree — from a university
  6. drill — a practice
  7. rock — a stone
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. degree — an amount
  14. spring — of water
  15. date — the fruit
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. drill — army training
  19. can — to be able to
  20. can — a tin
  21. can — a tin
  22. spring — the season
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. field — for sport

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