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: net · field · bound · march · lie · hand · fan · present

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. field — farmland
  4. bound — tied together
  5. march — music
  6. lie — to recline
  7. net — in sport
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — a subject
  10. hand — in cards
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. hand — help
  14. net — for catching
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. net — after costs
  17. bound — obliged
  18. present — a gift
  19. bound — certain
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. lie — an untruth
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. fan — a supporter

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