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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. field — for sport
  3. cap — of ice
  4. drill — a practice
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. cap — a lid
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. drill — army training
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. field — a subject
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. shower — rain
  16. drill — the tool
  17. game — wild animals
  18. cap — a hat
  19. field — farmland
  20. shower — to wash
  21. lie — to recline
  22. lie — an untruth
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. lie — an untruth

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