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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. That must've been a ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. shower — rain
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. chest — a box
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. field — for sport
  9. game — a match
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — a subject
  12. rush — a thrill
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. chest — of your body
  15. game — wild animals
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rush — hurry
  18. date — the fruit
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. shower — to wash
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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