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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. hand — in cards
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. row — a line
  7. spring — of water
  8. row — to paddle
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. lean — thin
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spring — the season
  14. hand — help
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. plane — a tool
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. lean — to bend
  21. ball — a dance
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. lean — to rest against

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