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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. file — a line of people
  3. cue — a signal
  4. land — ground
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. land — a country
  8. trunk — of a tree
  9. face — part of the head
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. field — farmland
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. face — to confront
  14. field — for sport
  15. cue — for pool
  16. wake — a trail
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. cue — a hint
  19. field — a subject
  20. face — to point toward
  21. file — a document
  22. bass — the fish
  23. land — to come down
  24. file — a tool

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