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
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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 very handy with a ________________.
  2. He works in a ________________ mill.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw β€” the tool
  2. saw β€” the tool
  3. rash β€” hasty
  4. field β€” farmland
  5. track β€” a path
  6. field β€” a subject
  7. saw β€” past of 'see'
  8. last β€” to go on
  9. last β€” final
  10. rash β€” on the skin
  11. season β€” to add flavour
  12. content β€” videos and posts
  13. band β€” a rubber band
  14. rash β€” a series
  15. season β€” in sport
  16. track β€” to keep track
  17. content β€” the amount
  18. last β€” finally
  19. band β€” a ring
  20. season β€” of the year
  21. track β€” a song
  22. field β€” for sport
  23. band β€” a music group
  24. content β€” happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those 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