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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cap · file · content · stand · shower · field

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. field — farmland
  3. stand — to bear
  4. field — for sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. shower — to wash
  7. field — a subject
  8. file — a document
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. content — the amount
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. shower — rain
  13. cap — a lid
  14. cap — a hat
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. file — a tool
  18. cap — of ice

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