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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. land — a country
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. field — a subject
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. file — a tool
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. land — to come down
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — in biology
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. file — a line of people
  15. field — for sport
  16. land — ground
  17. fork — in a road
  18. toast — the most admired
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. toast — bread
  21. file — a document
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. cell — a phone
  24. coach — a trainer

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