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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — an illness
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. mark — a trace
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. tear — from crying
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. rush — hurry
  15. mark — a grade
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. tear — to rip
  18. bear — the animal
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. tear — from crying
  21. bear — the animal
  22. court — of a king
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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