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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. shower — to wash
  6. file — a tool
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. ball — a great time
  12. file — a document
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. dip — to sink
  17. spring — of water
  18. ball — a dance
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. spring — the season
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. date — the fruit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. spring — a coil

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