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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. rock — music
  3. bass — low music
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. capital — a city
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. rest — a break
  12. capital — money
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bass — the fish
  16. stem — to come from
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. rest — what's left
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bark — to shout
  21. rock — a stone
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. bat — the animal

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