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: lean · band · chest · stock · plane · bulb · mine · bat

  1. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. lean — to bend
  7. stock — goods
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — the animal
  12. band — a ring
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. lean — thin
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. plane — a tool
  18. stock — shares
  19. band — a music group
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. chest — a box
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. chest — of your body
  24. bat — in an idiom

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