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: court · mug · spring · field · current · leaves · clip · fan

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. mug — a face
  4. current — electric
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. current — happening now
  7. field — a subject
  8. clip — a video
  9. field — farmland
  10. field — for sport
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spring — of water
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. court — for sport
  15. clip — for paper
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. current — of water
  19. court — of a king
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mug — to rob
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. spring — the season
  24. court — of law

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