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: stem · field · mark · arm · sharp · cold · rush · object

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. stem — to come from
  3. object — to protest
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. cold — not warm
  8. mark — a grade
  9. object — an aim
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. field — farmland
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. field — for sport
  15. mark — a trace
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. object — a thing
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. rush — hurry

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