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: plane · stem · field · ground · pound · present · cold · arm

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. present — a gift
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. ground — the earth
  8. present — there
  9. ground — crushed
  10. ground — a position
  11. present — the time now
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. pound — a weight
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. field — a subject
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. stem — to come from
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. cold — not warm
  24. plane — a tool

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