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: ball · file · hand · stand · spring · bat · saw · rule

  1. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. ball — a round shape
  3. spring — a coil
  4. file — a document
  5. bat — the animal
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. file — a line of people
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. hand — in cards
  12. ball — a great time
  13. hand — help
  14. saw — the tool
  15. file — a tool
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stand — to bear
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. rule — government
  23. saw — the tool
  24. rule — a law

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