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 116 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: wound · field · squash · craft · present · ground · straw · tube

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. craft — boats
  4. wound — an injury
  5. craft — a skill
  6. squash — the sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. tube — the underground
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. present — a gift
  11. ground — the earth
  12. wound — an injury
  13. tube — a container
  14. tube — in a tire
  15. ground — a position
  16. squash — to crush
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. ground — crushed
  19. present — the time now
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. field — for sport
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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