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: spell · chest · shower · foot · net · pop · last · field

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. foot — a measure
  3. net — for catching
  4. pop — to visit
  5. shower — rain
  6. shower — to wash
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. field — farmland
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — final
  15. spell — a short time
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — magic
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. pop — soda
  21. net — after costs
  22. pop — music
  23. last — finally
  24. spell — letters

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