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. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bank — for money
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — to play on
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. lash — to lash out
  12. swing — in golf
  13. field — for sport
  14. season — of the year
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bank — of a river
  19. season — in sport
  20. field — a subject
  21. date — the fruit
  22. swing — music
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. season — to add flavour

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