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 120 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 ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  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 — for baseball
  2. squash — the sport
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. fall — to drop
  6. bass — low music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. squash — to crush
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — ground
  11. bat — the animal
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. bass — the fish
  14. season — of the year
  15. fall — the season
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. present — the time now
  18. mine — for digging
  19. season — in sport
  20. present — there
  21. present — a gift
  22. land — to come down
  23. land — a country
  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