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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. key — for a lock
  3. rock — music
  4. field — farmland
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. key — the most important part
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. fall — the season
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. fall — to drop
  14. hand — in cards
  15. field — for sport
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. pitch — completely
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. band — a ring
  20. rock — a stone
  21. key — in music
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. field — a subject
  24. band — a music group

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