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 120 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: ball · face · rule · field · shower · pitch · patient · arm

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. rule — a law
  8. face — to confront
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. face — part of the head
  11. pitch — completely
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. shower — rain
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. face — to point toward
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. field — for sport
  19. shower — to wash
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. ball — a dance
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. ball — a great time

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