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 120 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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. spring — a coil
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. mark — a grade
  6. field — a subject
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — to sink
  9. game — wild animals
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. squash — to crush
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. field — farmland
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. game — a match
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. spring — the season
  21. mark — a trace
  22. spring — of water
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. hand — in cards

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