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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. cell — a phone
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. field — a subject
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. mate — to breed
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — for sport
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. cell — in biology
  11. wake — a trail
  12. field — farmland
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. degree — temperature
  15. mate — a partner
  16. mate — a friend
  17. march — the month
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — the sport
  20. track — a path
  21. track — to keep track
  22. degree — an amount
  23. march — music
  24. squash — to crush

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