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. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to point toward
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. face — part of the head
  6. field — a subject
  7. dip — to dunk
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. present — a gift
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. dip — to sink
  13. present — the time now
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. present — there
  16. tear — from crying
  17. land — to come down
  18. field — for sport
  19. face — to confront
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. tear — from crying
  23. tear — to rip
  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