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 120 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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. present — a gift
  3. current — electric
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. lie — to recline
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. present — the time now
  9. cold — an illness
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. bat — the animal
  12. fork — in a road
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. file — a document
  15. current — happening now
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. cold — not warm
  19. present — there
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. file — a tool
  23. current — of water
  24. file — a line of people

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