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 116 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. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. hand — help
  4. file — a line of people
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. fork — in a road
  8. season — of the year
  9. hand — in cards
  10. chair — a professorship
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. bat — the animal
  13. current — of water
  14. chair — a leader
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. current — electric
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. season — in sport
  21. file — a tool
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. current — happening now

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