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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. deal — to handle
  7. track — a song
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. snap — to click
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pop — to visit
  12. field — for sport
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. cold — an illness
  16. track — a path
  17. field — a subject
  18. track — to keep track
  19. stem — to come from
  20. field — farmland
  21. pop — music
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stem — of a plant

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