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: dip · chest · land · fan · jam · field · mine · mate

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mate — to breed
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. mate — a friend
  7. land — a country
  8. dip — to sink
  9. chest — a box
  10. mine — for digging
  11. jam — to spread on bread
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. land — to come down
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. mate — a partner
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — a subject
  22. land — ground
  23. field — farmland
  24. chest — of your body

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