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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. fine — all right
  3. fine — high quality
  4. roll — a cake
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. wind — moving air
  7. hand — in cards
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. season — in sport
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. season — of the year
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. hand — help
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wind — moving air
  19. roll — a list
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bat — the animal
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — a loud noise

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