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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. bass — low music
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cold — an illness
  7. field — farmland
  8. swing — to play on
  9. march — music
  10. march — the month
  11. swing — music
  12. kick — in football
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. cold — not warm
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — a subject
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. march — the month
  24. bass — the fish

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