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: bark · drill · fall · kid · field · mug

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. kid — child
  3. field — for sport
  4. fall — to drop
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. kid — to tease
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. fall — the season
  10. mug — a face
  11. bark — to shout
  12. fall — to drop
  13. drill — army training
  14. mug — a cup
  15. drill — a practice
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. field — a subject

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