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: rash · plane · ground · degree · mark · field · clip · track

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. The ________________ took off on time.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. ground — the earth
  6. plane — an aircraft
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — for sport
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. clip — to cut
  14. rash — hasty
  15. degree — from a university
  16. clip — a video
  17. track — to keep track
  18. rash — a series
  19. degree — temperature
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — a position
  22. field — a subject
  23. clip — for paper
  24. plane — a tool

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