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. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. drill — a practice
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. land — to come down
  5. kid — child
  6. last — final
  7. fine — high quality
  8. last — finally
  9. wound — an injury
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. kid — to tease
  15. drill — the tool
  16. land — a country
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. drill — army training
  21. bat — the animal
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — all right

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