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. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — in traffic
  2. field — a subject
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. ground — crushed
  5. degree — from a university
  6. bear — the animal
  7. net — for catching
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. field — for sport
  10. net — after costs
  11. ground — a position
  12. net — in sport
  13. chest — a box
  14. chest — of your body
  15. pitch — completely
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. ground — the earth
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — farmland
  20. degree — temperature
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. bear — the animal
  23. bear — to put up with
  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