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: patient · ball · field · last · land · net · face · band

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  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. band — a music group
  2. last — final
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. face — to confront
  5. band — a ring
  6. patient — calm and waiting
  7. last — to go on
  8. field — farmland
  9. land — a country
  10. field — a subject
  11. face — to point toward
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. net — for catching
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. land — ground
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a dance
  19. land — to come down
  20. face — part of the head
  21. net — after costs
  22. last — finally
  23. net — in sport
  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