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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. mine — for digging
  3. last — final
  4. pitch — completely
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. stem — to come from
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. season — of the year
  12. craft — a skill
  13. cell — in biology
  14. season — in sport
  15. ground — a position
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. craft — boats
  20. last — to go on
  21. last — finally
  22. cell — a phone
  23. ground — the earth
  24. ground — crushed

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