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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spell — letters
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. field — a subject
  6. spell — magic
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. last — final
  9. spell — a short time
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. field — farmland
  12. last — finally
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. squash — the sport
  16. field — for sport
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. squash — to crush
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. last — to go on
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. mine — for digging

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