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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chest — of your body
  5. field — a subject
  6. field — for sport
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. sharp — clever
  9. ground — a position
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. chest — a box
  12. suit — in cards
  13. field — farmland
  14. chest — of your body
  15. date — the fruit
  16. mine — for digging
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. suit — clothes
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. suit — to fit
  22. ground — the earth
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. sharp — with an edge

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