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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. pit — in a race
  3. cell — a phone
  4. degree — temperature
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. march — the month
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. field — for sport
  11. bass — low music
  12. cell — in biology
  13. pit — a hole
  14. march — music
  15. field — farmland
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. field — a subject
  18. pit — a fruit stone
  19. degree — an amount
  20. content — happy
  21. degree — from a university
  22. march — the month
  23. bass — the fish
  24. hide — to keep secret

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