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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — to wash
  6. current — happening now
  7. field — farmland
  8. last — final
  9. fall — to drop
  10. current — electric
  11. clip — to cut
  12. last — to go on
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. field — a subject
  16. clip — for paper
  17. track — a path
  18. clip — a video
  19. fall — to drop
  20. last — finally
  21. current — of water
  22. wake — a trail
  23. fall — the season
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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