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. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. field — for sport
  4. net — for catching
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. clip — for paper
  8. field — a subject
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. net — in sport
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. clip — a video
  14. wound — an injury
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. fork — in a road
  17. net — after costs
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. stem — to come from
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chair — a leader
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. pitcher — a jug

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