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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — farmland
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. tear — from crying
  8. band — a ring
  9. bulb — for light
  10. sharp — clever
  11. mate — to breed
  12. ground — crushed
  13. tear — from crying
  14. ground — a position
  15. band — a music group
  16. mate — a partner
  17. mate — a friend
  18. tear — to rip
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. squash — the sport
  22. field — for sport
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. ground — the earth

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