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: degree · saw · content · present · field · racket · key · chair

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. present — a gift
  5. degree — an amount
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. chair — a leader
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. field — for sport
  10. saw — the tool
  11. key — in music
  12. degree — temperature
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. saw — the tool
  15. present — there
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. content — the amount
  18. present — the time now
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. key — the most important part
  21. key — for a lock
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. degree — from a university
  24. content — videos and posts

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