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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. staff — employees
  3. prune — to trim
  4. row — a line
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. row — to paddle
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. file — a tool
  10. swing — to play on
  11. staff — employees
  12. hand — in cards
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. file — a line of people
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. staff — a stick
  18. fork — in a road
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. hand — help
  21. swing — music
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a document
  24. swing — in golf

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