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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  22. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. field — a subject
  4. toast — bread
  5. mine — for digging
  6. toast — a drink to someone
  7. capital — a city
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. field — for sport
  10. fork — in a road
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. capital — money
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. root — of a word
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. field — farmland
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. root — the cause
  22. toast — the most admired
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. chest — a box

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