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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. key — in music
  5. key — for a lock
  6. squash — the sport
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. last — finally
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. last — final
  12. present — a gift
  13. last — to go on
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. field — a subject
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. present — the time now
  19. bat — the animal
  20. key — the most important part
  21. squash — to crush
  22. bore — to tire
  23. bore — to drill
  24. squash — the vegetable

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