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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. content — the amount
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. field — farmland
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. plane — a tool
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. season — of the year
  9. kid — to tease
  10. season — in sport
  11. fall — to drop
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. content — happy
  15. present — a gift
  16. fall — the season
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. kid — child
  19. fall — to drop
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — for sport

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