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 reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. bound — obliged
  3. cold — an illness
  4. can — a tin
  5. land — to come down
  6. plane — a tool
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — ground
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. can — to be able to
  12. cold — not warm
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. field — for sport
  17. land — a country
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. bound — certain
  21. bat — the animal
  22. can — a tin
  23. dip — to sink
  24. field — a subject

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