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. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. ground — crushed
  4. court — of law
  5. file — a line of people
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — a position
  9. chest — of your body
  10. stem — to come from
  11. file — a document
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. band — a ring
  15. fine — a penalty
  16. chest — a box
  17. court — for sport
  18. band — a music group
  19. fine — high quality
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. court — of a king
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. file — a tool
  24. fine — all right

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