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: degree · cue · face · mine · kick · last · field · net

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. net — for catching
  5. degree — an amount
  6. mine — for digging
  7. degree — from a university
  8. field — farmland
  9. degree — temperature
  10. face — part of the head
  11. field — for sport
  12. kick — in football
  13. last — finally
  14. face — to point toward
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. cue — for pool
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. face — to confront
  20. net — in sport
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. cue — a signal
  23. cue — a hint
  24. net — after costs

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