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. We're on a ________________ here.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. When will it ________________ you to start?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. roll — a cake
  3. clip — a video
  4. ball — a dance
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. spring — the season
  9. wax — to grow
  10. clip — to cut
  11. suit — to fit
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. spring — a coil
  14. clip — for paper
  15. suit — in cards
  16. mine — for digging
  17. suit — clothes
  18. roll — a list
  19. spring — of water
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ball — a great time
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. field — farmland

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