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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. board — a committee
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. spring — the season
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. spring — of water
  9. kid — to tease
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. board — to get on
  13. kid — child
  14. fine — all right
  15. field — farmland
  16. fine — high quality
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. spring — a coil
  21. board — a flat piece
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wax — to grow

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