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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. court — for sport
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. field — for sport
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. season — of the year
  8. field — a subject
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. net — for catching
  12. kid — to tease
  13. net — in sport
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. court — of law
  17. field — farmland
  18. court — of a king
  19. kid — child
  20. season — in sport
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. net — after costs
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. saw — the tool

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