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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. field — a subject
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. pit — in a race
  9. field — farmland
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. drill — a practice
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pit — a hole
  16. drill — army training
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. sharp — clever
  19. kid — to tease
  20. field — for sport
  21. mine — for digging
  22. kid — child
  23. stem — to come from
  24. drill — the tool

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