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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bat — the animal
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. snap — to click
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. field — for sport
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — for digging
  11. prune — to trim
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. field — a subject
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. chest — of your body
  20. present — the time now
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. present — there
  23. field — farmland
  24. chest — a box

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