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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. stem — to come from
  3. kid — child
  4. rock — a stone
  5. field — a subject
  6. spring — of water
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. race — the arms race
  9. spell — magic
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — farmland
  15. kid — to tease
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. field — for sport
  18. race — a contest
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. spell — a short time
  21. spell — letters
  22. spring — the season
  23. rock — music
  24. spring — a coil

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