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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. charge — electricity
  3. file — a document
  4. wind — moving air
  5. scale — size or range
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. row — to paddle
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. charge — a price
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. mine — for digging
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a tool
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. scale — in music
  19. row — a line
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wind — moving air
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. charge — in control

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