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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. pop — to visit
  5. field — a subject
  6. march — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. chest — a box
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. march — the month
  11. chest — of your body
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wind — moving air
  15. fork — in a road
  16. wind — moving air
  17. face — part of the head
  18. march — the month
  19. face — to confront
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. pop — music
  23. field — for sport
  24. pop — soda

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