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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. current — happening now
  3. file — a document
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. tube — a container
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. current — of water
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — size or range
  14. tube — the underground
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. mine — for digging
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. file — a line of people
  22. scale — in music
  23. current — electric
  24. file — a tool

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