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 120 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. field — farmland
  3. clip — a video
  4. content — happy
  5. cap — a lid
  6. current — electric
  7. root — of a plant
  8. cap — a hat
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. root — the cause
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. clip — for paper
  14. content — the amount
  15. field — a subject
  16. current — of water
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — to cut
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. root — of a word
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. field — for sport
  24. cap — of ice

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