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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. foot — a measure
  3. last — finally
  4. foot — the bottom
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. tube — the underground
  7. bass — low music
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. ground — a position
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. bat — the animal
  13. roll — a list
  14. last — to go on
  15. last — final
  16. ground — crushed
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. ground — the earth
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. snap — to click
  21. bass — the fish
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. roll — a cake
  24. tube — in a tire

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