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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  22. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. last — to go on
  3. last — final
  4. last — finally
  5. shower — to wash
  6. pop — music
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. tube — the underground
  9. mine — for digging
  10. tube — a container
  11. pop — to visit
  12. file — a document
  13. shower — rain
  14. mate — to breed
  15. pop — soda
  16. mate — a partner
  17. face — part of the head
  18. face — to point toward
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. file — a tool
  21. mate — a friend
  22. face — to confront
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. file — a line of people

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