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 116 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: fine · face · ground · field · court · key · branch · bass

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. ground — a position
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. branch — a division
  6. bass — low music
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of law
  10. field — farmland
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. ground — the earth
  13. field — a subject
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bass — the fish
  16. field — for sport
  17. fine — all right
  18. key — in music
  19. face — to point toward
  20. fine — high quality
  21. branch — of a tree
  22. face — to confront
  23. face — part of the head
  24. key — for a lock

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