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. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. band — a ring
  7. present — a gift
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. field — for sport
  10. band — a music group
  11. field — a subject
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. present — the time now
  17. field — farmland
  18. bat — the animal
  19. stem — to come from
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. hand — help
  22. hand — in cards
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. present — there

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