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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. field — a subject
  3. firm — decided
  4. band — a ring
  5. court — of a king
  6. spell — a short time
  7. firm — a company
  8. spell — letters
  9. court — of law
  10. field — farmland
  11. court — for sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. firm — steady
  17. band — a music group
  18. swing — in golf
  19. prune — to trim
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. field — for sport
  24. swing — music

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