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: foot · field · cold · bark · leaves · stem · coach · lean

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. field — farmland
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lean — thin
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. field — a subject
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. cold — an illness
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. stem — to come from
  21. foot — a measure
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. field — for sport
  24. bark — to shout

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