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: cold · field · mouse · cabinet · key · season · clip · mark

  1. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. field — farmland
  3. key — for a lock
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. clip — a video
  10. mark — a grade
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. season — of the year
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cold — not warm
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. clip — for paper
  17. field — for sport
  18. mark — a trace
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. key — in music
  21. clip — to cut
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. cabinet — a cupboard
  24. season — in sport

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