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: field · march · date · object · tear · face · pass · saw

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. tear — from crying
  3. object — to protest
  4. field — a subject
  5. object — an aim
  6. tear — from crying
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. tear — to rip
  9. date — the fruit
  10. field — for sport
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. march — the month
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. face — to point toward
  15. march — music
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. march — the month
  18. face — part of the head
  19. saw — the tool
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. face — to confront
  22. object — a thing
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pass — a permit

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