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. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — the season
  2. band — a music group
  3. net — in sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. race — the arms race
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bass — low music
  8. bass — the fish
  9. race — a contest
  10. net — after costs
  11. fall — to drop
  12. scale — size or range
  13. field — a subject
  14. scale — in music
  15. fall — to drop
  16. root — the cause
  17. root — of a plant
  18. race — humankind
  19. net — for catching
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. root — of a word
  23. band — a ring
  24. field — for sport

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