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: ground · degree · mine · current · patient · can · plane · field

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. field — for sport
  3. degree — from a university
  4. degree — an amount
  5. current — electric
  6. can — to be able to
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. ground — crushed
  11. can — a tin
  12. field — farmland
  13. current — of water
  14. can — a tin
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — happening now
  17. ground — a position
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. degree — temperature
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. plane — a tool
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — a subject

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