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. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  2. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — a sauce
  2. bowl — a dish
  3. field — for sport
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. file — a tool
  7. field — farmland
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. file — a line of people
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bound — obliged
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. field — a subject
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. bound — tied together
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. dip — to sink
  19. bound — certain
  20. sharp — clever
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. file — a document
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. nail — for a hammer

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