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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. spring — of water
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. wax — in the ear
  7. content — happy
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. field — for sport
  13. net — after costs
  14. wax — to grow
  15. content — the amount
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bark — to shout
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wax — for sculpting
  20. net — in sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — the season

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