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: land · wound · mark · fall · field · bowl · spell · lean

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. spell — letters
  5. wound — an injury
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — for sport
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. land — a country
  12. fall — to drop
  13. field — farmland
  14. lean — thin
  15. wound — an injury
  16. mark — a trace
  17. land — ground
  18. land — to come down
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spell — magic
  21. mark — a grade
  22. fall — the season
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — to bend

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