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. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. land — a country
  5. foot — a measure
  6. land — to come down
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. stem — to come from
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. plane — a tool
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. land — ground
  13. file — a line of people
  14. ball — a great time
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. plane — an aircraft

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