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. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. field — for sport
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. prune — to trim
  5. last — finally
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. club — for dancing
  8. charge — a price
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. spring — a coil
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — final
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spring — the season
  15. club — a group
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. field — a subject
  18. wind — moving air
  19. club — for golf
  20. spring — of water
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — farmland
  23. wind — moving air
  24. charge — in control

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