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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. field — for sport
  3. cold — not warm
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. staff — employees
  12. tear — to rip
  13. staff — employees
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. staff — a stick
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pound — a weight
  18. pit — a hole
  19. current — happening now
  20. field — farmland
  21. pit — in a race
  22. current — of water
  23. field — a subject
  24. current — electric

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