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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. The light ________________ burned out.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. wake — a trail
  9. file — a tool
  10. bulb — for light
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — a subject
  13. file — a line of people
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. land — ground
  17. bass — low music
  18. bass — the fish
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. land — a country
  21. field — farmland
  22. file — a document
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. field — for sport

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