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. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. cold — an illness
  4. field — farmland
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. jam — in traffic
  7. field — a subject
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. game — wild animals
  10. staff — employees
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. bark — to shout
  16. game — a match
  17. cold — not warm
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. staff — employees
  21. field — for sport
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bark — of a tree

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