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: deal · mug · field · shower · last · cap · prune · cold

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mug — a face
  5. shower — rain
  6. last — final
  7. shower — to wash
  8. cold — an illness
  9. mug — a cup
  10. prune — to trim
  11. deal — to handle
  12. field — for sport
  13. prune — to trim
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. last — finally
  16. cap — of ice
  17. mug — to rob
  18. last — to go on
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. cap — a lid
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. field — farmland
  23. cap — a hat
  24. deal — a big deal

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