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. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. field — a subject
  3. kick — in football
  4. lean — to bend
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. lean — thin
  7. last — to go on
  8. land — a country
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. last — finally
  11. last — final
  12. land — to come down
  13. land — ground
  14. hand — in cards
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. dip — to sink
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. hand — help
  20. degree — from a university
  21. field — farmland
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. field — for sport

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