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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. degree — temperature
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. degree — an amount
  7. fine — all right
  8. field — a subject
  9. capital — money
  10. field — for sport
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — completely
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. degree — from a university
  16. fine — high quality
  17. court — of a king
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. court — for sport
  20. capital — a city
  21. court — of law
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. hide — animal skin

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