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: toast · chair · field · race · drill · hand · land · bound

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. land — ground
  3. drill — a practice
  4. land — to come down
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. land — a country
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. field — for sport
  11. bound — tied together
  12. toast — bread
  13. field — a subject
  14. toast — the most admired
  15. drill — the tool
  16. hand — help
  17. bound — obliged
  18. race — the arms race
  19. drill — army training
  20. bound — certain
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. hand — in cards
  23. field — farmland
  24. chair — a leader

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