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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. rush — hurry
  3. tear — from crying
  4. tear — to rip
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. can — a tin
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. can — a tin
  9. perch — the fish
  10. can — to be able to
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. capital — a city
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. tear — from crying
  21. capital — money
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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