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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. track — to keep track
  3. chest — of your body
  4. land — ground
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — in a road
  8. chest — a box
  9. lie — to recline
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. track — a song
  13. kick — in football
  14. file — a line of people
  15. land — a country
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. file — a tool
  18. track — a path
  19. land — to come down
  20. file — a document
  21. band — a ring
  22. band — a music group
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. chest — of your body

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