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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. field — a subject
  3. rash — a series
  4. spell — letters
  5. field — for sport
  6. rash — hasty
  7. spell — a short time
  8. spell — magic
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — size or range
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. chest — a box
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. chest — of your body
  17. bat — the animal
  18. scale — in music
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. present — the time now
  21. present — a gift
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. chest — of your body

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