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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. kid — child
  3. toast — bread
  4. shower — to wash
  5. pit — a hole
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. game — a match
  8. pit — in a race
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. shower — rain
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. game — wild animals
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. mine — for digging
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. mine — an explosive

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