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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. field — a subject
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. track — a song
  5. land — to come down
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. track — to keep track
  8. field — for sport
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. field — farmland
  11. date — the fruit
  12. track — a path
  13. degree — temperature
  14. can — a tin
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. land — a country
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. perch — the fish
  20. degree — an amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. degree — from a university
  23. can — to be able to
  24. can — a tin

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