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 120 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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. spring — the season
  4. bat — the animal
  5. file — a line of people
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. file — a tool
  12. saw — the tool
  13. file — a document
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. band — a ring
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. spring — a coil
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — of water
  24. fork — in a road

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