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 · ground · mine · lie · bat · chest · rush · degree

  1. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chest — of your body
  9. field — farmland
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. bat — the animal
  14. field — a subject
  15. lie — to recline
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. degree — temperature
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. degree — an amount
  23. rush — hurry
  24. rush — a thrill

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