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: club · land · wound · kid · field · charge · spell · present

  1. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The tickets are free of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. charge — electricity
  2. wound — an injury
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for dancing
  5. field — for sport
  6. club — for golf
  7. charge — in control
  8. spell — letters
  9. present — the time now
  10. spell — a short time
  11. land — to come down
  12. charge — a price
  13. kid — to tease
  14. club — a group
  15. present — a gift
  16. kid — child
  17. field — a subject
  18. land — ground
  19. present — there
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. spell — magic
  22. field — farmland
  23. land — a country
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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