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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — farmland
  4. charge — electricity
  5. mark — a trace
  6. charge — a price
  7. dip — to sink
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. spring — of water
  10. shower — rain
  11. mark — a grade
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. spring — the season
  15. last — final
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. field — for sport
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. charge — in control
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. last — finally
  24. shower — to wash

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