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: last · file · spell · roll · fan · snap · cell · swing

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. snap — to click
  3. last — final
  4. spell — letters
  5. roll — a cake
  6. roll — a list
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. swing — to play on
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. swing — in golf
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. file — a tool
  18. cell — a phone
  19. file — a line of people
  20. cell — in biology
  21. swing — music
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a document

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