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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. content — happy
  3. kid — child
  4. field — for sport
  5. rash — a series
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. content — the amount
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. rash — hasty
  16. rule — government
  17. field — farmland
  18. date — the fruit
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. kid — to tease
  21. field — a subject
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. rule — a law
  24. date — on the calendar

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