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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. land — a country
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. club — a group
  8. race — the arms race
  9. race — humankind
  10. club — for golf
  11. field — a subject
  12. court — of a king
  13. present — a gift
  14. club — for dancing
  15. court — of law
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. present — the time now
  19. race — a contest
  20. deal — to handle
  21. court — for sport
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. field — farmland
  24. present — there

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