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 120 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: field · spring · game · dip · mate · nail · prune · face

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. field — farmland
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. dip — to sink
  5. mate — a friend
  6. spring — the season
  7. mate — to breed
  8. spring — a coil
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. field — for sport
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. field — a subject
  14. face — part of the head
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. prune — to trim
  18. game — wild animals
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. game — a match
  21. spring — of water
  22. mate — a partner
  23. face — to confront
  24. face — to point toward

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