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 120 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: rock · cold · bat · ruler · fork · fan · spring · deal

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. spring — of water
  8. cold — not warm
  9. fork — in a road
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. spring — the season
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. deal — to handle
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rock — a stone
  21. spring — a coil
  22. rock — music
  23. deal — an agreement
  24. ruler — for measuring

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