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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. field — for sport
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. saw — the tool
  5. deal — to handle
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rule — government
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. field — a subject
  10. row — a line
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rule — a law
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. field — farmland
  18. file — a line of people
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — to come from
  21. stem — a stem cell
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. saw — the tool
  24. deal — a big deal

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