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 116 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 surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — of the sea
  2. file — a tool
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. rule — a law
  5. kid — child
  6. rule — government
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. rule — to rule out
  11. ground — a position
  12. ground — crushed
  13. rest — a break
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. rest — what's left
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. kid — to tease
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rest — what's left
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. bat — the animal

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