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 120 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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. face — part of the head
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. pop — soda
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. pop — music
  9. mark — a grade
  10. band — a ring
  11. file — a line of people
  12. pop — to visit
  13. face — to confront
  14. band — a music group
  15. file — a document
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rash — a series
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. prune — to trim
  20. chair — a leader
  21. face — to point toward
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a tool
  24. rash — hasty

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