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. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. field — for sport
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. lash — an eyelash
  5. shower — rain
  6. key — for a lock
  7. last — final
  8. field — farmland
  9. field — a subject
  10. shower — to wash
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. key — the most important part
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. key — in music
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — to go on
  18. prune — to trim
  19. cue — a signal
  20. last — finally
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. prune — to trim
  23. cue — for pool
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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