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. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. spring — the season
  3. game — wild animals
  4. can — a tin
  5. cap — of ice
  6. spring — of water
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. squash — to crush
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. land — to come down
  14. field — a subject
  15. squash — the sport
  16. game — a match
  17. can — to be able to
  18. land — ground
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. field — for sport
  21. spring — a coil
  22. land — a country
  23. arm — a part of something
  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