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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. ground — crushed
  5. sharp — clever
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. file — a line of people
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — the season
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spring — of water
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. ground — a position
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. file — a document
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. row — to paddle
  21. spring — a coil
  22. file — a tool
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. ground — the earth

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