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: pit · squash · file · wake · field · board · rest · race

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. board — a committee
  3. field — a subject
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. pit — a hole
  6. field — farmland
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. race — a contest
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. rest — a break
  11. squash — to crush
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. rest — what's left
  15. file — a tool
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. squash — the sport
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — for sport
  20. file — a document
  21. pit — in a race
  22. board — to get on
  23. file — a line of people
  24. wake — a trail

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