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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The light ________________ burned out.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. mine — for digging
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cap — a hat
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. kid — to tease
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. track — to keep track
  14. tube — a container
  15. kid — child
  16. track — a song
  17. bulb — for light
  18. bulb — for light
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. cap — of ice
  22. track — a path
  23. tube — the underground
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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