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

Word bank: season · field · degree · snap · capital · spring · row · rock

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  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. season — of the year
  2. rock — a stone
  3. capital — money
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. spring — a coil
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. field — a subject
  9. rock — music
  10. spring — the season
  11. degree — an amount
  12. season — in sport
  13. capital — a city
  14. degree — temperature
  15. snap — to click
  16. row — a line
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. row — to paddle
  19. field — farmland
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. degree — from a university
  23. spring — of water
  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