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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bark — to shout
  6. current — electric
  7. bass — low music
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. current — happening now
  11. row — to paddle
  12. bass — the fish
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. bat — the animal
  15. current — of water
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — the fruit
  19. tube — the underground
  20. chest — a box
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. tube — a container
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. tube — in a tire

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