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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. season — of the year
  4. fork — in a road
  5. cold — an illness
  6. cold — not warm
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. field — a subject
  9. rule — government
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. season — in sport
  12. key — for a lock
  13. hand — help
  14. wind — moving air
  15. hand — in cards
  16. key — the most important part
  17. field — farmland
  18. rule — a law
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. key — in music
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. wind — moving air

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