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: craft · lean · bat · arm · mine · field · march · date

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. field — for sport
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. craft — boats
  6. field — a subject
  7. date — the fruit
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. craft — a skill
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. march — the month
  13. lean — thin
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. field — farmland
  18. lean — to bend
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. march — music
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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