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've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. lean — thin
  3. mine — for digging
  4. land — to come down
  5. chest — of your body
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. fall — to drop
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. land — a country
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. lean — to bend
  12. date — the fruit
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. season — of the year
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. fall — the season
  18. fall — to drop
  19. season — in sport
  20. land — ground
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — of your body
  23. chest — a box
  24. bulb — for light

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