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: shower · saw · pitcher · rule · pit · nail · degree · field

  1. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  2. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a fruit stone
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. degree — from a university
  4. field — farmland
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. pit — a hole
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. degree — temperature
  10. rule — a law
  11. rule — government
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. shower — to wash
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. saw — the tool
  19. field — a subject
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. shower — rain
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. degree — an amount
  24. pit — in a race

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