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 120 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 hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The ________________ went through the wall.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. wake — a trail
  7. field — farmland
  8. kid — child
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. content — happy
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. content — the amount
  21. kid — to tease
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wound — an injury
  24. nail — on a finger

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