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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. bat — the animal
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wind — moving air
  7. date — the fruit
  8. rest — a break
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — after costs
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — in sport
  13. fork — in a road
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — what's left
  21. land — ground
  22. land — a country
  23. net — for catching
  24. wind — to turn a key

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