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 116 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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. press — a publisher
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. spell — magic
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. kid — to tease
  8. spell — letters
  9. game — a match
  10. press — to push
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. spell — a short time
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. kid — child
  16. press — newspapers
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fork — in a road

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