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

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. mate — to breed
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. wave — of the sea
  5. swing — to play on
  6. swing — music
  7. mate — a friend
  8. field — farmland
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. file — a tool
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. mate — a partner
  15. field — for sport
  16. file — a document
  17. swing — in golf
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. tear — to rip
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. tear — from crying
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. tear — from crying
  24. field — a subject

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