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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. court — of law
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. row — a line
  5. track — a song
  6. file — a tool
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. track — a path
  13. court — for sport
  14. date — the fruit
  15. row — to paddle
  16. track — to keep track
  17. current — electric
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of a king
  20. mine — for digging
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. file — a document
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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