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: band · arm · roll · shower · field · root · swing · lash

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. My father caught me by the ________________.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. swing — to play on
  3. roll — a cake
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. shower — to wash
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. band — a ring
  8. arm — part of the body
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. field — a subject
  12. root — of a plant
  13. root — the cause
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. shower — rain
  16. root — of a word
  17. swing — music
  18. band — a music group
  19. field — for sport
  20. swing — in golf
  21. roll — a list
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. band — a rubber band

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