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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. jam — to spread on bread
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tube — the underground
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. jam — a tight spot
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. field — for sport
  17. perch — the fish
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. tube — a container
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. march — the month
  24. cold — an illness

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