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: bat · plane · coach · wave · hand · file · cell · present

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. cell — in biology
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. cell — a phone
  11. plane — a tool
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a tool
  19. present — there
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. hand — in cards
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. file — a line of people
  24. present — the time now

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