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 116 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. wind — moving air
  4. field — a subject
  5. file — a tool
  6. pop — soda
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. file — a line of people
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. file — a document
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. field — farmland
  16. wind — moving air
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. coach — a trainer

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