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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. mark — a grade
  4. mark — a trace
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. field — a subject
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. fall — the season
  9. field — farmland
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — rain
  12. fall — to drop
  13. last — final
  14. fall — to drop
  15. field — for sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. net — after costs
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. last — to go on
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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