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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. march — the month
  3. wind — moving air
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. sharp — clever
  6. wind — moving air
  7. mug — a cup
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. field — a subject
  10. march — the month
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. date — the fruit
  13. track — a path
  14. rash — a series
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. rash — hasty
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. mug — to rob
  19. track — to keep track
  20. field — for sport
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. track — a song
  23. mug — a face
  24. march — music

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