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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. squash — the sport
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bass — low music
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. wake — a trail
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. spring — the season
  9. tube — a container
  10. file — a line of people
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. file — a tool
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. field — for sport
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. field — a subject
  18. bore — to tire
  19. file — a document
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. bore — to drill
  23. bass — the fish
  24. tube — the underground

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