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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. kid — child
  3. tube — the underground
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kid — to tease
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. land — ground
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. tube — a container
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. rash — a series
  18. land — a country
  19. plane — a tool
  20. dip — to sink
  21. land — to come down
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. spring — the season
  24. spring — of water

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