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: file · squash · fan · field · plane · straw · leaves · rush

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. file — a line of people
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. file — a document
  12. squash — the sport
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. plane — a tool
  16. file — a tool
  17. field — for sport
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. squash — to crush
  22. rush — hurry
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. leaves — of a tree

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