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: snap · chair · wound · court · craft · hand · stem · field

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. court — for sport
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. chair — a leader
  12. hand — in cards
  13. court — of a king
  14. craft — boats
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — a subject
  18. wound — an injury
  19. craft — a skill
  20. field — for sport
  21. court — of law
  22. stem — to come from
  23. snap — to click
  24. wound — an injury

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