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: content · mine · spell · band · charge · craft · field · patient

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. craft — a skill
  3. content — happy
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. spell — letters
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. charge — a price
  9. field — for sport
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. field — farmland
  13. band — a music group
  14. charge — electricity
  15. charge — in control
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. mine — for digging
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. spell — magic
  21. craft — boats
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — the amount
  24. band — a rubber band

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