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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. club — for dancing
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. clip — a video
  7. club — for golf
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. clip — for paper
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. field — a subject
  15. wax — to grow
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. clip — to cut
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. club — a group
  21. bass — the fish
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bass — low music
  24. wax — in the ear

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