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: face · board · present · mate · cap · lean · field · stem

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. lean — to bend
  3. mate — a partner
  4. field — farmland
  5. board — to get on
  6. face — to confront
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. field — for sport
  10. cap — of ice
  11. face — to point toward
  12. mate — a friend
  13. cap — a hat
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. present — there
  16. board — a committee
  17. field — a subject
  18. mate — to breed
  19. cap — a lid
  20. face — part of the head
  21. stem — to come from
  22. lean — thin
  23. present — the time now
  24. stem — of a plant

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