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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. mate — to breed
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. rash — a series
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. date — the fruit
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. club — a group
  11. mate — a partner
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mate — a friend
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — the animal
  18. cold — an illness
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — not warm
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bear — the animal

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