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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. tear — to rip
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. shower — to wash
  6. spell — a short time
  7. present — there
  8. field — for sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — of water
  11. spring — the season
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — magic
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — a gift
  17. spell — letters
  18. shower — rain
  19. field — farmland
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — to eat
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. present — the time now
  24. chip — in a computer

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