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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wake — a trail
  4. field — farmland
  5. row — a line
  6. scale — in music
  7. cap — a lid
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. content — the amount
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. content — happy
  14. field — a subject
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — to paddle
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. cap — of ice
  22. scale — size or range
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cap — a hat

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