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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  13. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. face — to confront
  3. field — a subject
  4. shower — rain
  5. file — a tool
  6. hand — help
  7. face — to point toward
  8. file — a document
  9. shower — to wash
  10. club — for dancing
  11. club — for golf
  12. dip — to dunk
  13. face — part of the head
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. field — for sport
  18. dip — to sink
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. file — a line of people
  22. field — farmland
  23. hand — in cards
  24. snap — to click

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