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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. chair — a leader
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — help
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. scale — in music
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. hand — in cards
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. bore — to tire
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. patient — calm and waiting
  16. scale — size or range
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. bore — to drill
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. saw — the tool
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — the season
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. scale — for weighing

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