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: present · season · cap · spring · safe · field · clip · chair

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He has no idea where the ________________ is.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. present — a gift
  4. clip — to cut
  5. field — farmland
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chair — a leader
  8. present — the time now
  9. cap — a hat
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. clip — a video
  14. cap — a lid
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. field — for sport
  17. clip — for paper
  18. present — there
  19. season — of the year
  20. field — a subject
  21. spring — a coil
  22. season — in sport
  23. cap — of ice
  24. safe — a strongbox

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