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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. track — to keep track
  3. land — a country
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. rash — hasty
  6. kick — in football
  7. wound — an injury
  8. rash — a series
  9. cell — a phone
  10. bass — the fish
  11. track — a song
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. land — ground
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. track — a path
  16. wind — moving air
  17. wound — an injury
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cell — in biology
  20. land — to come down
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. cell — in a prison

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