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: bark · coach · roll · bass · clip · cabinet · content · field

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. What do you think of the new ________________?
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bass — the fish
  3. field — for sport
  4. roll — a cake
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — for paper
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. clip — a video
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bark — to shout
  15. clip — to cut
  16. field — farmland
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. content — happy
  19. bass — low music
  20. roll — a list
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. content — the amount

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