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 120 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. march — the month
  3. field — a subject
  4. bat — the animal
  5. game — wild animals
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. bass — the fish
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — music
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. march — the month
  18. bass — low music
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. snap — to click
  21. saw — the tool
  22. game — a match
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. field — for sport

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