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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. swing — music
  4. land — a country
  5. fall — to drop
  6. face — part of the head
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. land — ground
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. fall — to drop
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. face — to point toward
  14. fall — the season
  15. face — to confront
  16. swing — to play on
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. stem — to come from
  24. row — a line

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