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 120 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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — finally
  3. degree — temperature
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. craft — boats
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. field — a subject
  8. stock — shares
  9. degree — an amount
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. last — final
  12. stock — goods
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. craft — a skill
  15. chest — of your body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. field — for sport
  18. degree — from a university
  19. game — a match
  20. chest — a box
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. field — farmland
  23. craft — a handicraft
  24. chest — of your body

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