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 farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  12. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. field — for sport
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — hurry
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. branch — a division
  11. rush — to hurry
  12. bear — to put up with
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. bear — the animal
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — to bear
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bear — the animal
  22. bat — the animal
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. band — a rubber band

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