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 120 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 soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. file — a tool
  3. field — farmland
  4. march — music
  5. field — a subject
  6. drill — the tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. squash — to crush
  10. file — a document
  11. march — the month
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. drill — a practice
  14. row — a line
  15. field — for sport
  16. row — to paddle
  17. squash — the sport
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. saw — the tool
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. march — the month
  23. saw — the tool
  24. file — a line of people

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