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 116 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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. scale — size or range
  5. wave — of the sea
  6. kid — child
  7. scale — in music
  8. field — farmland
  9. season — in sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. season — of the year
  12. shower — to wash
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. shower — rain
  17. drill — a practice
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. stem — to come from
  21. field — for sport
  22. drill — the tool
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. drill — army training

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