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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — farmland
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. file — a line of people
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. squash — to crush
  15. tear — to rip
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. tear — from crying
  18. tear — from crying
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a tool
  21. stock — goods
  22. squash — the sport
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. racket — a loud noise

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