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: mark · present · spring · file · field · rule · plane · cold

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. mark — a grade
  3. mark — a trace
  4. spring — the season
  5. rule — government
  6. field — for sport
  7. spring — of water
  8. present — a gift
  9. rule — a law
  10. file — a line of people
  11. field — a subject
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. cold — not warm
  14. file — a document
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. file — a tool
  17. cold — an illness
  18. present — there
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. present — the time now
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. field — farmland
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. plane — a tool

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