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: field · foot · wind · track · degree · dip · tear · spell

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spell — a short time
  3. tear — from crying
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. field — a subject
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. tear — to rip
  9. degree — temperature
  10. track — to keep track
  11. spell — magic
  12. track — a song
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. dip — to sink
  16. wind — moving air
  17. spell — letters
  18. degree — an amount
  19. field — for sport
  20. foot — a measure
  21. degree — from a university
  22. tear — from crying
  23. field — farmland
  24. wind — moving air

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