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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. race — humankind
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. prune — to trim
  5. court — of a king
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. prune — to trim
  8. field — for sport
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. row — a line
  12. field — a subject
  13. race — the arms race
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. stem — to come from
  17. rash — a series
  18. race — a contest
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. court — of law
  21. rash — hasty
  22. row — to paddle
  23. field — farmland
  24. court — 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