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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. cue — for pool
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cue — a hint
  6. track — to keep track
  7. board — to get on
  8. game — wild animals
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. track — a path
  11. cue — a signal
  12. capital — money
  13. board — a committee
  14. cold — not warm
  15. track — a song
  16. capital — a city
  17. cold — an illness
  18. game — a match

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