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 can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. swing — in golf
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. file — a tool
  5. land — ground
  6. swing — to play on
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bat — the animal
  12. swing — music
  13. land — to come down
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. file — a document
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. land — a country
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. chest — a box
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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