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 116 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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. last — final
  6. current — electric
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. spring — of water
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — an illness
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. current — happening now
  13. plane — a tool
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — to tease
  16. cold — not warm
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. current — of water
  20. last — to go on
  21. spring — a coil
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. spring — the season
  24. plane — an aircraft

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