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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. date — the fruit
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. spell — letters
  6. craft — a skill
  7. last — finally
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. last — to go on
  13. press — to push
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a line of people
  16. kid — child
  17. craft — boats
  18. press — a publisher
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. spell — a short time
  21. kid — to tease
  22. press — newspapers
  23. spell — magic
  24. file — a document

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