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 116 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 little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. file — a line of people
  4. bear — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. lean — thin
  13. file — a document
  14. lean — to bend
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. file — a tool
  17. race — a contest
  18. field — for sport
  19. bat — the animal
  20. field — farmland
  21. race — the arms race
  22. season — in sport
  23. race — humankind
  24. bear — to put up with

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