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 124 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. march — the month
  4. field — a subject
  5. march — music
  6. land — to come down
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. land — a country
  9. rash — a series
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. field — farmland
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. land — ground
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — hasty
  19. root — of a plant
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. root — of a word
  22. root — the cause
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — a supporter

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