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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — for sport
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — the sport
  5. field — farmland
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. sharp — clever
  8. squash — to crush
  9. cap — a lid
  10. row — a line
  11. ground — the earth
  12. row — to paddle
  13. race — humankind
  14. cap — of ice
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. race — the arms race
  17. content — the amount
  18. field — a subject
  19. race — a contest
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. cap — a hat
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. ground — crushed

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