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. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. staff — employees
  6. ground — the earth
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. toast — bread
  9. spring — the season
  10. ground — crushed
  11. spring — a coil
  12. scale — in music
  13. staff — a stick
  14. ground — a position
  15. kid — to tease
  16. club — a group
  17. staff — employees
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. spring — of water
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. kid — child
  22. club — for golf
  23. club — for dancing
  24. scale — size or range

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