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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. cold — an illness
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — in sport
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. jam — in traffic
  8. present — a gift
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the sport
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. foot — a measure
  18. present — the time now
  19. cold — not warm
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. net — for catching
  24. net — after costs

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