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. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. She's very handy with a ________________.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. row — a line
  3. field — a subject
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. bound — tied together
  6. row — to paddle
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bat — the animal
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. field — for sport
  14. bound — certain
  15. saw — the tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. cell — a phone
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. field — farmland
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cell — in biology

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