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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. face — to confront
  3. face — part of the head
  4. face — to point toward
  5. club — a group
  6. shower — rain
  7. file — a document
  8. court — of law
  9. spring — the season
  10. chest — a box
  11. spring — a coil
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. shower — to wash
  14. file — a line of people
  15. spring — of water
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. chest — of your body
  20. court — for sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. club — for golf
  23. court — of a king
  24. club — for dancing

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