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: march · arm · current · field · spring · row · net · object

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. field — a subject
  5. spring — of water
  6. net — for catching
  7. net — after costs
  8. object — a thing
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — electric
  11. march — the month
  12. net — in sport
  13. current — of water
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. object — an aim
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. march — the month
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. object — to protest
  24. march — music

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