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: bore · bat · mate · spell · wax · fork · field · cold

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. field — a subject
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. field — farmland
  6. spell — magic
  7. spell — letters
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bat — the animal
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. field — for sport
  14. mate — a friend
  15. wax — to grow
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mate — to breed
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. bore — to drill
  20. bore — to tire
  21. fork — in a road
  22. cold — not warm
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. mate — a partner

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