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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mate — to breed
  3. file — a tool
  4. mate — a friend
  5. race — a contest
  6. mate — a partner
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — a position
  9. kid — child
  10. race — the arms race
  11. kid — to tease
  12. race — humankind
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. land — to come down
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. land — a country
  17. land — ground
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. file — a line of people
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. file — a document
  24. ground — the earth

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