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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — for sport
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kid — child
  6. field — a subject
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. field — farmland
  11. pound — a weight
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. ground — the earth
  14. kid — to tease
  15. mine — for digging
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. ground — crushed
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. date — the fruit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. date — on the calendar

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