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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. tube — the underground
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. rest — what's left
  7. hand — in cards
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. field — a subject
  10. rest — a break
  11. hand — help
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. tube — a container
  14. cold — not warm
  15. firm — decided
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — music
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. firm — steady
  21. firm — a company
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. rest — what's left

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