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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. degree — an amount
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. hand — help
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. present — a gift
  7. degree — from a university
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. wake — a trail
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — there
  14. present — the time now
  15. degree — temperature
  16. band — a music group
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. mine — for digging
  22. band — a ring
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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