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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. bat — the animal
  3. rest — what's left
  4. cell — a phone
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. snap — to click
  7. rest — a break
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. file — a tool
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. cell — in biology
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. file — a document
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — to paddle
  24. file — a line of people

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