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 116 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: club · race · court · rest · field · bat · bark · content

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. race — the arms race
  5. field — farmland
  6. race — a contest
  7. club — a group
  8. club — for golf
  9. content — the amount
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — of law
  12. bark — to shout
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — the animal
  15. court — of a king
  16. club — for dancing
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. content — happy
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. court — for sport
  23. rest — a break
  24. race — humankind

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