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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. track — a song
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. stem — to come from
  5. court — for sport
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. kid — child
  8. track — a path
  9. field — for sport
  10. branch — a division
  11. court — of a king
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. kid — to tease
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. field — a subject
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. row — to paddle
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. row — a line
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. track — to keep track
  24. court — of law

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