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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. shower — to wash
  3. field — for sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. kick — in football
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. wound — an injury
  9. net — after costs
  10. face — part of the head
  11. net — in sport
  12. last — final
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. face — to confront
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. bass — low music
  17. last — finally
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. net — for catching
  20. wound — an injury
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. face — to point toward
  23. bass — the fish
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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