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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. fall — to drop
  4. foot — part of the body
  5. ground — a position
  6. fall — the season
  7. field — farmland
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. spring — the season
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. fall — to drop
  12. bear — the animal
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spring — a coil
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. field — for sport
  17. bark — to shout
  18. spring — of water
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bear — the animal
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. straw — dry grass

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