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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. wake — a trail
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. land — ground
  9. cold — an illness
  10. mine — for digging
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. shower — rain
  13. land — to come down
  14. cold — not warm
  15. staff — employees
  16. charge — in control
  17. bat — the animal
  18. land — a country
  19. charge — a price
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. staff — a stick
  22. staff — employees
  23. shower — to wash
  24. charge — electricity

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