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. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. file — a tool
  3. file — a document
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. scale — in music
  8. degree — an amount
  9. lean — to bend
  10. scale — size or range
  11. degree — from a university
  12. craft — a skill
  13. lean — thin
  14. spring — the season
  15. game — wild animals
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — a coil
  19. file — a line of people
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. game — a match
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. degree — temperature
  24. craft — boats

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