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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. field — farmland
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. field — for sport
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. squash — to crush
  7. rash — hasty
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. spring — of water
  10. plane — a tool
  11. press — to push
  12. squash — the sport
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. spring — a coil
  16. tear — from crying
  17. press — newspapers
  18. rash — a series
  19. tear — from crying
  20. spring — the season
  21. press — a publisher
  22. tear — to rip
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. field — a subject

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