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: patient · race · press · bulb · bat · lie · land · field

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. I've got to change the light ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. press — to push
  3. field — for sport
  4. land — to come down
  5. race — the arms race
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. land — a country
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bulb — for light
  10. race — humankind
  11. press — a publisher
  12. race — a contest
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. field — a subject
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. lie — to recline
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. field — farmland
  22. press — newspapers
  23. bulb — for light
  24. bat — the animal

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