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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. object — a thing
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. land — to come down
  7. bat — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wake — a trail
  10. land — a country
  11. track — to keep track
  12. object — to protest
  13. track — a song
  14. object — an aim
  15. wind — moving air
  16. track — a path
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. wind — to turn a key

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