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: fall · hide · bat · game · rest · spring · safe · band

  1. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  7. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. safe — out of danger
  2. fall — to drop
  3. spring — the season
  4. game — a match
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. safe — a strongbox
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. fall — to drop
  10. spring — of water
  11. band — a ring
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spring — a coil
  14. rest — a break
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. rest — what's left
  19. game — wild animals
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rest — what's left
  23. band — a music group
  24. fall — the season

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