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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — farmland
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. mug — a cup
  6. cold — an illness
  7. pop — to visit
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. mug — a face
  10. mark — a grade
  11. chip — to eat
  12. field — for sport
  13. land — a country
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. pop — music
  16. pop — soda
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. field — a subject
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cold — not warm
  21. land — to come down
  22. mark — a trace
  23. chip — for betting
  24. land — ground

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