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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. tube — a container
  3. cabinet — ministers
  4. face — to point toward
  5. wind — moving air
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. fine — all right
  9. kid — to tease
  10. face — part of the head
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. fine — high quality
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. face — to confront
  15. bat — the animal
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. tube — the underground
  24. mine — an explosive

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