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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. tube — the underground
  3. charge — in control
  4. land — a country
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. hand — help
  8. snap — to click
  9. rash — a series
  10. land — to come down
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. hand — in cards
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — to shout
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. charge — a price
  18. charge — electricity
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. tube — a container
  22. rash — hasty
  23. land — ground
  24. bat — in an idiom

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