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: wake · cold · bear · sharp · field · spell · plane · ground

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. sharp — clever
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. ground — a position
  7. field — a subject
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. bear — the animal
  13. spell — magic
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. spell — letters
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. spell — a short time
  21. field — for sport
  22. plane — a tool
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. field — farmland

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