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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. drill — army training
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. pit — in a race
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — to wash
  8. drill — the tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. pit — a hole
  11. net — for catching
  12. fork — in a road
  13. field — farmland
  14. mug — a face
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. drill — a practice
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. field — a subject
  19. mug — to rob
  20. shower — rain
  21. mug — a cup
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — the Cold War

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