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 120 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: fork · bore · band · clip · bowl · track · chest · field

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. band — a music group
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. clip — a video
  5. clip — to cut
  6. band — a ring
  7. bore — to drill
  8. track — a song
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. field — a subject
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. clip — for paper
  15. field — farmland
  16. chest — a box
  17. track — to keep track
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. track — a path
  22. field — for sport
  23. fork — in a road
  24. bore — to tire

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