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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. ground — a position
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. scale — in music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. swing — music
  9. file — a tool
  10. pop — music
  11. pop — soda
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. ground — crushed
  15. file — a line of people
  16. swing — in golf
  17. field — farmland
  18. scale — size or range
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. pop — to visit
  23. file — a document
  24. ground — the earth

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