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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. mine — for digging
  4. ground — a position
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. key — the most important part
  7. spell — letters
  8. ground — crushed
  9. ground — the earth
  10. cell — in biology
  11. key — for a lock
  12. field — farmland
  13. key — in music
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. cell — a phone
  16. tube — a container
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. tube — the underground
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. spell — magic
  21. field — for sport
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. spell — a short time

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