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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. kid — child
  3. season — in sport
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. stem — to come from
  6. game — a match
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bulb — for light
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — wild animals
  13. wound — an injury
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. field — farmland
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. kid — to tease
  18. season — of the year
  19. bulb — for light
  20. field — for sport
  21. sharp — clever
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. field — a subject
  24. bulb — of a plant

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