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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. hand — help
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. cell — in biology
  5. cell — a phone
  6. shower — to wash
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. bat — the animal
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. hand — in cards
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. shower — rain
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. bulb — for light
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. mark — a trace
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mark — a grade

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