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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. land — a country
  3. rule — a law
  4. field — farmland
  5. kid — child
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. fine — high quality
  8. club — a group
  9. clip — a video
  10. content — the amount
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. clip — for paper
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. land — to come down
  18. land — ground
  19. clip — to cut
  20. rule — government
  21. content — happy
  22. fine — all right
  23. club — for golf
  24. field — a subject

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