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: board · field · land · bore · bat · wake · bass · chair

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — a subject
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. land — a country
  8. wake — a trail
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. land — ground
  11. board — to get on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. land — to come down
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. bore — to tire
  19. field — for sport
  20. bass — low music
  21. bass — the fish
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — a committee

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