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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. firm — decided
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. scale — size or range
  6. spring — a coil
  7. scale — in music
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. firm — steady
  10. spring — of water
  11. firm — a company
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. game — a match
  14. wake — a trail
  15. rash — a series
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. plane — a tool
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. game — wild animals
  24. spring — the season

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