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

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rest — a break
  3. bound — certain
  4. game — a match
  5. swing — to play on
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bound — tied together
  10. rest — what's left
  11. shower — rain
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. bound — obliged
  14. rest — what's left
  15. swing — music
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. game — wild animals
  18. swing — in golf

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