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: safe · spring · cold · field · present · mine · dip · season

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. season — of the year
  3. present — the time now
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. season — in sport
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. present — there
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. present — a gift
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. mine — for digging
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. dip — to sink
  24. spring — the season

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