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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. face — to point toward
  3. face — to confront
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. chest — of your body
  7. land — ground
  8. face — part of the head
  9. bat — the animal
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — a box
  13. row — a line
  14. bank — for money
  15. bank — for money
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. pitch — completely
  18. bank — of a river
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. chest — of your body
  21. land — a country
  22. row — to paddle
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. nail — for a hammer

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