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. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a document
  2. shower — to wash
  3. key — in music
  4. cell — in biology
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cell — a phone
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. track — to keep track
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. key — for a lock
  14. cold — an illness
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. fork — in a road
  18. key — the most important part
  19. bat — the animal
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. track — a song
  22. shower — rain
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. track — a path

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