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. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Have you met the new head ________________?
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. hand — help
  3. squash — to crush
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. rush — hurry
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. hand — in cards
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. stem — to come from
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. track — to keep track
  23. squash — the sport
  24. date — on the calendar

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