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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. bat — the animal
  6. staff — employees
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. cold — an illness
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spell — letters
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lie — to recline
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. cold — not warm
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. spell — magic
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. plane — a tool

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