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: tube · craft · rule · degree · field · firm · spring · fan

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rule — government
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tube — the underground
  9. degree — temperature
  10. spring — the season
  11. craft — boats
  12. craft — a skill
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — a coil
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. field — for sport
  17. tube — a container
  18. firm — decided
  19. field — a subject
  20. degree — an amount
  21. rule — a law
  22. firm — steady
  23. spring — of water
  24. firm — a company

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