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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. prune — to trim
  3. chip — to eat
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. march — music
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. hand — help
  15. race — humankind
  16. prune — to trim
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. march — the month
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. race — the arms race
  21. march — the month
  22. chip — for betting
  23. hand — in cards
  24. race — a contest

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