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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · root · chair · stock · wind · object · tear · degree

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. field — for sport
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. object — to protest
  7. degree — from a university
  8. root — of a plant
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chair — a leader
  11. field — a subject
  12. degree — temperature
  13. root — of a word
  14. object — a thing
  15. wind — moving air
  16. object — an aim
  17. stock — shares
  18. field — farmland
  19. stock — goods
  20. wind — moving air
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. root — the cause
  24. tear — from crying

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