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. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. field — farmland
  3. drill — a practice
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. field — a subject
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. cap — of ice
  8. cap — a hat
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. field — for sport
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. rule — a law
  13. capital — money
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. capital — a city
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. file — a line of people
  18. file — a document
  19. drill — the tool
  20. file — a tool
  21. rule — government
  22. drill — army training
  23. rush — hurry
  24. cap — a lid

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