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 124 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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. field — a subject
  4. wax — to grow
  5. field — for sport
  6. pop — soda
  7. game — wild animals
  8. wax — in the ear
  9. spring — the season
  10. pop — music
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. mark — a trace
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. mark — a grade
  16. spring — of water
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. pop — to visit
  20. spring — a coil
  21. field — farmland
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chair — a leader
  24. wax — for sculpting

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