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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  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. date — the fruit
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. content — the amount
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — a practice
  9. game — a match
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. content — happy
  12. bass — low music
  13. game — wild animals
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. spring — of water
  16. bass — the fish
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. file — a line of people
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. spring — a coil
  21. drill — army training
  22. file — a document
  23. spring — the season
  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