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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bark — a dog's sound
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. ball — a great time
  9. game — a match
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. wind — moving air
  12. ball — a dance
  13. field — a subject
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. field — for sport
  18. bark — to shout
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. hand — in cards
  21. dip — to sink
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. hand — help
  24. dip — to dunk

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