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: plane · deal · file · mine · bass · court · hand · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. file — a line of people
  3. file — a document
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bass — the fish
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. court — of law
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. court — of a king
  15. plane — a tool
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. deal — to handle
  18. hand — help
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. hand — in cards
  22. plane — in geometry
  23. court — for sport
  24. file — a tool

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