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: wind · mark · hand · file · pitcher · kick · present · field

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a tool
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. field — farmland
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. kick — in football
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — a subject
  14. hand — in cards
  15. file — a line of people
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. file — a document
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — for sport
  20. mark — a grade
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. present — there
  24. mark — a trace

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