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 116 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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. kick — a thrill
  3. kick — in football
  4. wax — for sculpting
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. file — a line of people
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. land — to come down
  9. file — a document
  10. pit — in a race
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. spring — of water
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wax — to grow
  15. land — ground
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. bat — the animal
  18. spring — the season
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. file — a tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. pit — a hole
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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