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

  1. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. ground — a position
  3. field — for sport
  4. field — a subject
  5. wound — an injury
  6. pitch — completely
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. date — the fruit
  9. field — farmland
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. ground — crushed
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. wound — an injury
  17. ground — the earth
  18. pitch — a sales talk

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