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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  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. field — for sport
  2. present — a gift
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. chair — a leader
  6. present — the time now
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bound — obliged
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bound — certain
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. lie — to recline
  17. lash — to lash out
  18. bound — tied together
  19. field — farmland
  20. present — there
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — in a road
  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