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: degree · last · club · pitcher · game · toast · field · tear

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. tear — from crying
  3. toast — bread
  4. degree — from a university
  5. degree — an amount
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. tear — from crying
  8. tear — to rip
  9. field — for sport
  10. toast — the most admired
  11. club — for golf
  12. game — wild animals
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. last — to go on
  15. club — a group
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. last — finally
  18. game — a match
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. field — a subject
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. field — farmland
  23. degree — temperature
  24. last — final

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