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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. field — for sport
  3. root — of a word
  4. chest — a box
  5. game — a match
  6. chest — of your body
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. ground — crushed
  9. field — a subject
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. game — wild animals
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bank — of a river
  15. root — of a plant
  16. bank — for money
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bank — for money
  19. ground — a position
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. root — the cause
  22. field — farmland
  23. band — a music group
  24. arm — part of the body

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