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 don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. track — a path
  7. pop — to visit
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. track — to keep track
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — a position
  14. season — of the year
  15. chest — of your body
  16. chest — of your body
  17. pop — music
  18. pop — soda
  19. ground — the earth
  20. bat — the animal
  21. chest — a box
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. track — a song
  24. season — in sport

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