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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. field — for sport
  5. capital — a city
  6. season — of the year
  7. board — a committee
  8. hand — help
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rock — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. board — to get on
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. cell — a phone
  17. capital — money
  18. perch — the fish
  19. cell — in biology
  20. field — farmland
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. field — a subject
  23. hand — in cards
  24. season — to add flavour

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