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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — rain
  4. cap — of ice
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. stand — to bear
  8. court — for sport
  9. wind — moving air
  10. bulb — for light
  11. court — of law
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. field — for sport
  14. cap — a lid
  15. ground — crushed
  16. field — farmland
  17. bulb — for light
  18. shower — to wash
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. wind — moving air
  21. ground — the earth
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. court — of a king

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