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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. ground — the earth
  3. saw — the tool
  4. ground — a position
  5. toast — the most admired
  6. bat — the animal
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. present — the time now
  10. present — a gift
  11. present — there
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. toast — bread
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kick — in football
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. saw — the tool
  20. toast — a drink to someone
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. ground — crushed
  24. shower — rain

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