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: fall · date · bat · wind · bound · board · land · lash

  1. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. board — to get on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bound — tied together
  9. land — a country
  10. fall — to drop
  11. land — ground
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. bound — obliged
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. land — to come down
  18. board — a committee
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — the season
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wind — moving air
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. bound — certain

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