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 116 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: kick · cold · clip · fork · field · mug · chip · mine

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. fork — in a road
  3. mine — for digging
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. chip — to eat
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. field — farmland
  8. clip — for paper
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. chip — for betting
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. mug — a face
  14. cold — an illness
  15. mug — a cup
  16. clip — a video
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. field — a subject
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mug — to rob
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. kick — in football
  24. cold — not warm

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