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 120 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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. current — happening now
  8. field — a subject
  9. face — part of the head
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. present — the time now
  12. present — there
  13. present — a gift
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. face — to point toward
  21. bat — the animal
  22. swing — in golf
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. bat — in an idiom

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