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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. face — to confront
  3. spring — a coil
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. spring — of water
  7. face — to point toward
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. staff — employees
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — a list
  16. kick — in football
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. staff — a stick
  19. file — a tool
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bat — the animal
  22. spring — the season
  23. file — a line of people
  24. file — a document

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