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: chair · mine · march · charge · season · field · game · tear

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. tear — from crying
  4. field — for sport
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. charge — electricity
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. charge — a price
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. charge — in control
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. field — farmland
  14. march — music
  15. season — in sport
  16. march — the month
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. game — wild animals
  19. chair — a leader
  20. march — the month
  21. season — of the year
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — from crying
  24. game — a match

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