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: content · cold · field · bay · spell · row · rush · plane

  1. That must've been a ________________.
  2. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — a thrill
  2. bay — a part of the sea
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. field — a subject
  5. cold — not warm
  6. spell — a short time
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. field — farmland
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. spell — magic
  12. content — the amount
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. spell — letters
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. content — happy
  19. row — to paddle
  20. rush — hurry
  21. plane — a tool
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. cold — an illness
  24. row — a line

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