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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. hand — help
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. current — of water
  8. field — farmland
  9. current — happening now
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. spell — letters
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. spell — magic
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spell — a short time
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. current — electric
  21. field — for sport
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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