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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — size or range
  11. face — to confront
  12. mine — for digging
  13. stem — to come from
  14. board — to get on
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. board — a committee
  17. band — a music group
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. scale — in music
  24. mine — belonging to me

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