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 116 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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. shower — rain
  3. file — a line of people
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. shower — to wash
  8. field — a subject
  9. kick — in football
  10. tube — a container
  11. hand — help
  12. content — the amount
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. content — happy
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. stand — to bear
  18. field — farmland
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. hand — in cards
  23. field — for sport
  24. stand — on your feet

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