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: chair · wound · field · racket · cell · bass · face · spell

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. wound — an injury
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. spell — letters
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bass — the fish
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. spell — magic
  9. field — for sport
  10. cell — a phone
  11. bass — low music
  12. field — a subject
  13. face — to point toward
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — part of the head
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. spell — a short time
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. cell — in biology
  22. field — farmland
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. racket — for tennis

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