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. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. ground — a position
  3. ground — crushed
  4. drill — a practice
  5. drill — the tool
  6. clip — to cut
  7. field — a subject
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. clip — a video
  16. saw — the tool
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. saw — the tool
  20. field — farmland
  21. field — for sport
  22. bat — the animal
  23. clip — for paper
  24. drill — army training

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