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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. squash — the sport
  3. field — a subject
  4. pop — to visit
  5. cold — an illness
  6. field — for sport
  7. fall — to drop
  8. squash — to crush
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. pop — soda
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. dip — to sink
  17. tear — from crying
  18. fall — the season
  19. pop — music
  20. tear — to rip
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — not warm
  24. field — farmland

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