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: chip · bay · field · wind · bore · ball · cell · sharp

  1. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. My mare is ________________ in color.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. cell — a phone
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chip — to eat
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. wind — moving air
  8. bore — to drill
  9. bay — a horse colour
  10. field — farmland
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. chip — for betting
  15. field — for sport
  16. bore — to tire
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. cell — in biology
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. ball — a dance
  23. field — a subject
  24. wind — moving air

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