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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. roll — a list
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. field — a subject
  5. mate — to breed
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. kid — child
  9. net — in sport
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. mate — a friend
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. field — farmland
  14. wound — an injury
  15. kid — to tease
  16. field — for sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. net — after costs
  21. net — for catching
  22. mate — a partner
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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