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: saw · season · deal · land · field · chair · hand · tube

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. season — of the year
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. chair — a leader
  5. field — for sport
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — a country
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. saw — the tool
  12. land — to come down
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. hand — in cards
  16. season — in sport
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hand — help
  19. tube — the underground
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. tube — a container
  24. chair — a professorship

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