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. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. tube — a container
  4. chair — a leader
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. tube — the underground
  7. game — a match
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. dip — to sink
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. game — wild animals
  15. hand — help
  16. prune — to trim
  17. hand — in cards
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. bat — the animal
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. prune — to trim

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