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: pit · patient · kick · field · tear · band

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. band — a music group
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. field — a subject
  8. pit — a hole
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. field — farmland
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. kick — in football
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. patient — calm and waiting
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. tear — from crying
  17. field — for sport
  18. pit — in a race

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