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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Have you settled on a ________________?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. chest — of your body
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. shower — to wash
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — low music
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. date — the fruit
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. game — a match
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. chest — a box
  19. bass — the fish
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. game — wild animals
  22. shower — rain
  23. chest — of your body
  24. nail — for a hammer

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