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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — humankind
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. field — a subject
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. race — a contest
  8. race — the arms race
  9. foot — a measure
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. kid — child
  13. club — for dancing
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. kid — to tease
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. field — for sport

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