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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. date — the fruit
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. scale — in music
  9. bat — the animal
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. land — ground
  13. fine — high quality
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. scale — size or range
  16. can — a tin
  17. can — a tin
  18. land — to come down
  19. can — to be able to
  20. deal — to handle
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. fine — all right
  23. cold — not warm
  24. bat — in an idiom

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