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

Word bank: fork · ground · track · patient · wake · land

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. land — ground
  3. wake — a trail
  4. track — a path
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. ground — crushed
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. land — to come down
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. ground — the earth
  13. land — a country
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. ground — a position
  18. fork — in a road

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