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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. object — a thing
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. rush — hurry
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. wound — an injury
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. file — a document
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. track — to keep track
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — a path
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. hand — help
  19. track — a song
  20. file — a line of people
  21. object — to protest
  22. hand — in cards
  23. object — an aim
  24. file — a tool

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