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: land · rash · squash · spell · file · date · saw · wound

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  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. file — a tool
  2. saw — the tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. squash — to crush
  5. land — to come down
  6. file — a line of people
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. spell — letters
  9. land — a country
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. squash — the sport
  12. spell — magic
  13. rash — a series
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. date — the fruit
  17. saw — the tool
  18. spell — a short time
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. land — ground
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. wound — an injury
  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