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 · hand · ground · shower · chip · field · wax · coach

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. field — a subject
  3. shower — to wash
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bark — to shout
  7. chip — for betting
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. chip — to eat
  11. hand — in cards
  12. wax — to grow
  13. shower — rain
  14. field — farmland
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. ground — the earth
  22. wax — in the ear
  23. field — for sport
  24. hand — help

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