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 120 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. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I've got to change the light ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The light ________________ burned out.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — of a plant
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. kid — child
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. bulb — for light
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. kid — to tease
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bulb — for light
  11. bat — the animal
  12. object — to protest
  13. band — a music group
  14. march — the month
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. march — the month
  17. object — a thing
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. band — a ring
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. march — music
  24. object — an aim

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