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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. file — a line of people
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. stem — to come from
  7. pass — a permit
  8. scale — in music
  9. land — to come down
  10. scale — size or range
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. net — after costs
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. file — a tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. file — a document
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. land — a country
  23. land — ground
  24. fork — to eat with

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