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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The tickets are free of ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. present — there
  3. charge — electricity
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. charge — in control
  7. present — the time now
  8. cold — an illness
  9. game — wild animals
  10. cold — not warm
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. file — a line of people
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. file — a document
  19. file — a tool
  20. prune — to trim
  21. game — a match
  22. prune — to trim
  23. charge — a price
  24. game — a kind of play

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