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: field · bat · pound · date · mark · tear · dip · cap

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. cap — of ice
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. cap — a lid
  10. field — a subject
  11. tear — to rip
  12. dip — to sink
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. pound — a weight
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. date — the fruit
  21. field — for sport
  22. cap — a hat
  23. mark — a grade
  24. tear — from crying

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