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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · bat · mate · rush · fan · last · bark · track

  1. That was ________________ to happen.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — certain
  2. rush — hurry
  3. mate — a friend
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. last — to go on
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. bound — obliged
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. track — a song
  14. bat — the animal
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. bark — to shout
  17. last — final
  18. mate — a partner
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bound — tied together
  22. track — a path
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. last — finally

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