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 116 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. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the vegetable
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. branch — a division
  4. field — farmland
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. wound — an injury
  7. field — a subject
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. squash — to crush
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. game — a match
  14. game — wild animals
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. squash — the sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. branch — of a tree

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