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: object · roll · field · spring · hand · bound · race · deal

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. race — a contest
  3. hand — help
  4. race — the arms race
  5. object — to protest
  6. bound — tied together
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bound — obliged
  9. object — an aim
  10. race — humankind
  11. spring — the season
  12. hand — in cards
  13. field — for sport
  14. bound — certain
  15. roll — a list
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — of water
  19. deal — to handle
  20. object — a thing
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. field — a subject
  24. deal — a big deal

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