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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. club — a group
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. bank — for money
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. club — for dancing
  7. club — for golf
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. clip — a video
  10. game — wild animals
  11. field — for sport
  12. bank — for money
  13. game — a match
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. bark — to shout
  16. cell — in biology
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. cell — a phone
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. bank — of a river
  24. field — farmland

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