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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fall — to drop
  3. ground — crushed
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. ground — a position
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. ground — the earth
  9. field — for sport
  10. field — farmland
  11. fall — the season
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. fall — to drop
  14. squash — to crush
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. spring — the season
  17. squash — the sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. safe — a strongbox
  20. field — a subject
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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