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. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. row — a line
  3. stem — of a plant
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. bark — to shout
  9. deal — a big deal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. game — a match
  13. cap — of ice
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. stem — to come from
  16. deal — to handle
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. game — wild animals

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