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: swing · court · rush · fine · cold · field · charge · tear

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. cold — not warm
  3. tear — from crying
  4. swing — to play on
  5. charge — electricity
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. swing — music
  8. fine — high quality
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — an illness
  11. charge — in control
  12. court — of a king
  13. rush — hurry
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. charge — a price
  16. field — a subject
  17. court — of law
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fine — all right
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — farmland
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. tear — to rip

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