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: kid · patient · tear · net · band · field · lash · sharp

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  15. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. field — for sport
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. tear — to rip
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. tear — from crying
  9. band — a ring
  10. patient — calm and waiting
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — for catching
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. sharp — with an edge
  16. net — in sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — to tease
  21. lash — to lash out
  22. tear — from crying
  23. kid — child
  24. sharp — clever

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