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. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. wave — of the sea
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — an illness
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. field — for sport
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. field — a subject
  13. cold — not warm
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. field — farmland
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. row — to paddle
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. plane — a tool
  24. row — a line

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