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: bound · craft · rest · race · clip · field · sharp · degree

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. craft — a skill
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. degree — from a university
  7. bound — obliged
  8. craft — boats
  9. rest — a break
  10. field — a subject
  11. race — humankind
  12. rest — what's left
  13. clip — a video
  14. sharp — clever
  15. clip — for paper
  16. race — the arms race
  17. degree — temperature
  18. bound — tied together
  19. race — a contest
  20. field — for sport
  21. bound — certain
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — to cut
  24. field — farmland

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