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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. wind — moving air
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. bear — the animal
  5. kid — to tease
  6. mark — a trace
  7. kid — child
  8. plane — a tool
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. mark — to pay attention
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. drill — the tool
  19. mark — a grade
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. wind — moving air
  22. drill — army training
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. drill — a practice

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