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: last · cap · wave · wind · prune · ball · chest · field

  1. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. wind — moving air
  3. chest — of your body
  4. cap — of ice
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — for sport
  11. chest — a box
  12. field — a subject
  13. cap — a hat
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. last — to go on
  17. wind — moving air
  18. last — final
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a dance
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — finally
  23. wave — with your hand
  24. cap — a lid

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